There must be a will if an image has to be discarded. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board is now showing that will. International terrorism has encouraged the association of the religion with violence, and it has become necessary to lay stress on the tolerance and openness that are part of Islam. Without this larger context, the willingness of the AIMPLB to consider some issues, which it has been loath to discuss so far, cannot be fully explained. But this dimension should not obscure the importance of a powerful impulse towards reform and review that has come from within the Indian minority community. Ultimately it is this force that is the dominant moving spirit in change within a community.

The agenda being proposed for the forthcoming conclave of the AIMPLB at Kochi indicates the kind of impulse that has been gathering force. Already there have been a number of discussions on the need for a model marriage contract, one that would correct gender imbalance with relation to maintenance after divorce. This is only one aspect of a larger problem, the practice of verbal triple talaq. The practice in India has reportedly long overtaken the relevant law, although in some Islamic countries, verbal triple talaq has been rejected. It is one of the chief sources of suffering for women, and needs immediate review. That the AIMPLB is now considering the review of marriage and divorce practices is truly welcome. Together with these two issues the other question that has arisen has to do with women?s right to their share of agricultural property from their natal families. All this shows the growth of the women?s voice within the community, the total impact of which is perhaps more significant than the sum of the three issues that have been raised. The articulation of women?s rights within a strongly conservative community speaks of education and exposure. But this force too, is part of a more general thrust towards reform and modernization. Rethinking educational systems, for example, may be a possibility, because the new emphasis on tolerance, inclusiveness, practicality and harmony would demand a number of reforms from the base. The process may turn out to be slow, but its inauguration is promising.