Sharia court controversy in Muslim community: All you need to know
New Delhi : Sharia court and its law were in news for past few months. Many people believe that as soon as the Sharia court comes, India will become the Islamic Republic of India. They say the purpose of making the Sharia court is to create parallel judicial system in the country. In this article, we will tell, what exactly does Sharia court mean and what is Sharia law in India?
Sharia refers to the law in Islamic religious which have jurisdiction upon every Muslim in the country. Also, spelt as Syariah court system, it is one of the two separate systems of courts which exist in Malaysian legal system.
Sharia law is a set of religious principles which form part of the Islamic culture. In India, Muslim law are controlled by The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937. This law deals with marriage, succession, inheritance and charities among Muslims. Lately, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) pointed at part of media for spreading fake news regarding its plan to set up ‘shariah courts’ in each district of the country.
“@AIMPLB_Official never demanded a parallel court system. It has been and will be running Darul Qazas under the arbitration act. Our Darul Qazas are only arbitration centers that are helping the society. Please ignore fake news,” the board tweeted.
Sharia court controversy was fuelled up when AIMPLB secretary Zafaryab Jilani said there was no proposal for setting up new ‘darul qazas’ on the agenda of the board’s meeting in New Delhi on July 15. “We had set up our first centre in 1993 and more centres have come up since. Their progress report is presented to the board from time to time,” he said.
“We do not call them ‘shariah courts’ as is being made out by a section of the media. A similar attempt to stoke a controversy and challenge the legality of these centres was made earlier too, and a petition was filed in the Supreme Court, which upheld their validity in 2014.”
Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahli, a member of the board said it was a propaganda and misinformation that the body had decided to constitute a special panel of its own to present the “true picture”. He also mentioned that the board is very happy with the way its women members led a countrywide protest and played an active role in the passing of triple talaq bill.”
Meanwhile, media notices that there was diverse opinion even among Muslims regarding the Sharia court. The AIMPLB decision to establish a sharia court in every district of the country has received wide criticism and strong objection from the he Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling political party of India. BJP leaders claimed that the proposed courts are an attempt by the minority community to set up a parallel justice system in the country.
