Nadwi : Cautious

Nov. 21: All India Muslim Personal Law Board chief Maulana Rabey Nadwi has a dim view of hardline Muslim leaders ever eager to issue political fatwas or threats of agitation. The head of the apex Muslim body also believes that raking up the Babri issue should not be a ?priority area? for the board.

In a rare interview to an in-house Urdu magazine, Tameer-e-Hayatt, published from Lucknow?s Nadwa School, he dismissed the suggestion of Muslims in India floating a political ?Muslim party? to protect the community?s interests.

The rector of the Nadwa theology school said such a course would adversely affect Muslim interests in the country. ?The majority community, secular parties, judiciary, media and several other institutions are there to protect minorities,? he said, without naming the secular parties.

Nadwi said Muslim leaders should avoid making inflammatory speeches or issuing threats that vitiate the atmosphere of amity. ?The rule of law, the Constitution and secular traditions are so deeply entrenched in the Indian psyche that we do not have to look for any other option,? he added.

Nadwi said the core task of the Muslim law board was to protect the Shariat (Islamic civil code) and bring about reforms in Muslim society. But the board was ?forced? to take up the Babri issue after the mosque?s demolition, he added. ?We are extending all legal assistance and are prepared to discuss the (Babri) issue,? he said, but asserted that it was not the board?s ?priority area?.

The board came into being in 1973 and had enjoyed complete apolitical status for about 20 years, he pointed out.

Referring to the controversy surrounding triple talaq, he said several institutions, including the media, had misconceptions on matters of divorce and marriage.

?I have a question. How many Muslim marriages end in divorce and among those opting for divorce, how may opt for triple talaq? Our information says the rate of divorce is just about a single digit in a thousand marriages and out of that only a minuscule fraction ends in triple talaq,? he said.

While he recognised that there were problems in a pluralistic society like India?s, he was confident that constant dialogue between various faiths would reduce tension. ?I think if inter-faith dialogue is institutionalised, it will help more,? he said.

About the formation of the government headed by Manmohan Singh, Nadwi said he would refrain from making political comments. ?Let us see how they perform. They have just come in.?

Nadwi said he was concerned over growing tension between Islam and Christianity in the West but was confident that the liberal traditions of the West would not turn it into a ?civilisation war?. He said it was pertinent to make a distinction between the US government and its citizens. ?While sometimes we may have reasons to be dismayed by some of the actions of the US administration, we have full faith in the people of America.?

Nadwi, who is vice-president of the Rabat-based Rabta-e-Islami, a global body of Muslim scholars, said he has reasons to be more optimistic about the role of Christian religious leaders than those of the Jews in resolving tensions. ?There are several enlightened Christian religious heads who understand the need for dialogue and conciliation but among the Jewish counterparts, that tendency is rare.?