Yogi Adityanath Gets Backing Of Islamic Body On Love Jihad, Says Such Conversions Un-Islamic
At a time when the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is facing severe criticism from several corners and Muslim groups for enacting the?Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance, which many see as aimed at targeting the community, it has received support form a key Islamic shrine.
Bareilly's Dargah-e-Ala Hazrat, one of the most revered shrines for the Barelvi sect of Sunni Muslims, issued the ¡®fatwa' terming the forcible and fraudulent conversion as against the tenet of Islam.
According to PTI, the president of Markaz-e-Darul Ifta of Dargah-e-Ala Hazrat, Mufti Musibur Rahman Razvi, said in the light of Quran and ¡®Shariat', religious conversion by force or allurement is illegal.
Markaz-e-Darul Ifta president issued the decree in response to some posers by Rashtriya Sunni Ulema Council president Maulana Interzar Ahamad Kadri on the issue of interfaith marriages and entailing conversion.
Kadri had asked if a Muslim man can religiously convert a non-Muslim girl after marrying her by fraud.
The Rashtriya Sunni Ulema Council president had also asked if there exists in ¡°Shariat¡± (Islamic laws) any phenomena of ¡°love jihad¡±, a derogatory coinage referring to the alleged campaign of Muslims forcing Hindu girls to convert in the guise of love.
'Social evil'
On the question about ¡°love jihad¡±, the fatwa said Islam has no place for any such thing.
"It is a social evil that extends from Western civilization. Love is an English word and jihad an Arabic. It is not related to each other. In the eyes of the Shariat, love jihad has no status," the fatwa said.
The Darul Ifta ulema has also supported the ordinance brought by the Uttar Pradesh government recently against wrongful conversion. This fatwa has also been trending on social media.
The recently enacted law provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 50,000 under different categories for forced or fraudulent religious conversions.
Controversy over new law
According to the ordinance, a marriage will be declared "null and void" if the conversion of a woman is solely for that purpose and those wishing to change their religion after marriage needs to apply to the district magistrate.
The ordinance says no person shall convert, either directly or indirectly from one religion to another by use or practice of misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means or by marriage nor shall any person abet, convince or conspire such conversion.
An aggrieved person, his/her parents, brother, sister, or any other person who is related to him/her by blood, marriage or adoption may lodge an FIR about such conversion, according to the ordinance.
So far three cases have been filed in UP under the new law and one person has been arrested. In all the cases, the accused are Muslims.
