Murderous Attack On Progressive Cleric—Are Indian Muslims Going The Pakistan Way?
TWO
separate news items of interest to Muslims appeared in English newspapers on
Wednesday, and were reproduced on NewAgeIslam.com as well. ‘Educate Muslim
girls, urges latest fatwa’ was one, followed by
‘Two held for attack on Sunni cleric in Lucknow’.
It turns out that the Sunni cleric who was attacked, Khalid Rasheed Firangi
Mahali, is the same who issued the fatwa to educate Muslim girls.
...
One can only hope
that this incident does not portend a larger trend. We have seen Muslims killing
Muslims inside mosques in the name of Islam, in Pakistan, Afghanistan and
Iraq. India has thankfully been
spared—until now. It is up to us Indian Muslims to learn from the mistakes of
our brethren elsewhere and make sure these horror stories don’t start haunting
us now. -- New Age Islam News
Bureau
By New Age Islam News
Bureau
TWO separate news items of interest to Muslims appeared in English
newspapers on Wednesday, and were reproduced on NewAgeIslam.com as well.
‘Educate Muslim girls, urges latest fatwa’ was one, followed by
‘Two held for attack on Sunni cleric in Lucknow’.
It
turns out that the Sunni cleric who was attacked, Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali,
is the same who issued the fatwa to educate Muslim girls.
The shooting happened on Monday evening. From the reports, it is not
clear when the fatwa was issued, but Firangi Mahali is unlikely to have issued a
significant fatwa immediately after escaping an unnerving murderous
attack, although he escaped unhurt.
It
is therefore logical to assume that the fatwa was issued earlier, and the
attack—carried out by at least two people, both with Muslim names—was a
fanatical response to the progressive edict.
The fatwa by Firangi Mahali, who belongs to Darul Uloom Farangi
Mahal, came soon after Darul Uloom Deoband’s fatwa that it was un-Islamic for
women to work in close proximity to men in offices and for her family
to
accept her earnings.
Firangi Mahali’s fatwa said it was not just important but mandatory
for Muslim girls to be educated. “Education is mandatory for every Muslim,
whether male or female,” he said, quoting Hadith and Shari’a.
The fatwa stated that “man has come into this world for enlightenment
and for spreading knowledge in society”.
“A
man who gets his daughters and sisters educated, teaches them etiquette, treats
them well and marries them off would go to heaven,”it added.
The fatwa said Islam not only promoted education for your own
children, but even for servants. “As the mother is close to her children, being
educated is very important for her,” it said.
It
said the Hadith quotes make it evident that Islam gives much importance to the
issue of women’s education. “It is
mandatory for every Muslim to ensure proper education to his daughter at any
cost,”
it
said.
The fatwa was issued in reply to a query posted by Huma Khwaja
seeking clarification on girl’s education.
It
obviously didn’t go down well with so-called Muslims who only want to misuse
Islam for justifying their inherent prejudices and their regressive
mindset.
Mahali was shot at near Aishbagh Idgah, Lucknow’s main mosque at
which he is Naib Imam, just as he was coming out after offering evening prayers.
Two attackers, Aftab and Abuzar, have been arrested on
charges of attempted murder, while the police are hunting for two of
their aides.
One can only hope that this incident does not portend a larger trend.
We have seen Muslims killing Muslims inside mosques in the name of Islam, in
Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.
India has thankfully been spared—until now. It is up to us Indian
Muslims to learn from the mistakes of our brethren elsewhere and make sure these
horror stories don’t start haunting us now.
9:44 PM
Sultan Shahin
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