US embassy cable - 05NEWDELHI6737

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 006737 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, KISL, KIRF, PINR, PHUM, PTER, IN, IR, Indian Domestic Politics, Human Rights 
SUBJECT: INDIAN MUSLIMS REJECT EXTREMISM VIA FATWAS 
 
REF: NEW DELHI 5216 
 
1.  (U) Summary:  The recent controversy surrounding a fatwa 
from the Darul-Uloom Deoband seminary demonstrates the unique 
ability of India's Muslim community to reign in signs of 
extremism to maintain a moderate Islam identity.  During 
Panchayat (local) elections in Uttar Pradesh, three muftis 
from the Darul-Uloom Deoband seminary issued a fatwa that 
Muslim women contesting elections must wear purdah (the 
veil).  The strong outcry from Muslims, especially women, led 
the seminary to impose a ban on individual muftis issuing 
edicts on political matters.  The fatwa raised questions of 
gender equality and moral authority in Islam, the personal 
law system for Muslims and parallel cleric-run legal 
structures, the media's treatment of Muslims, and the 
interplay of religion and politics in India.  The mainstream 
Muslim community, fearing that the BJP and the Left parties 
would play up the fatwas as an Islamic threat for political 
gains, resisted even a modest move towards extremism.  Yet 
again, India's Muslims have shown the world why they can 
serve as a role model.  End Summary. 
 
Muslims Upset Over Recent Deobandi Fatwas 
----------------------------------------- 
 
2.  (U) Over the past three months, the Darul-Uloom Deoband 
seminary has issued two controversial fatwas regarding 
women's rights and responsibilities.  The Darul-Uloom Deoband 
is the largest religious and academic center for Islamic 
studies on the sub-continent and offers education at all 
levels to approximately 3,000 new students a year.  According 
to Mufti Mohammad Aamir Chandpuri, the seminary's muftis 
(Islamic scholars capable of interpreting Shariat law) 
comprise the Dar-ul-iftha, which can issue religious opinions 
known as fatwas in accordance with the Hanfi school of law. 
General Secretary of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, Maulana Mehmood 
Madani, explained that the fatwas cannot be enforced, and so 
it is up to the believer to implement the opinions.  The 
Deoband school is more influenced by fundamentalist Wahabi 
thinking than others in India. 
 
3.  (U) On August 16, three Darul-Uloom Deoband muftis issued 
a fatwa stipulating that women contesting elections are 
required to wear purdah.  Several national Indian papers 
reported different versions of the fatwa, inferring variously 
that the Deobandis implied women should not contest elections 
or were less intelligent then men.  The statement set off a 
strong outcry among women of all religions as well as some 
Muslim clerics.  Speaking to Poloff, Madani clarified the 
fatwa and observed that Islamic law, in his view, has nothing 
against women running for elections but requires all women to 
wear purdah at all times. 
 
4.  (U) This controversy comes on the heels of the "Imrana 
case," in which a woman was reportedly raped by her 
father-in-law.  In response, the Deoband school issued a 
fatwa that she should no longer live with her husband. 
However, newspapers carrying the story reported that the 
seminary told Imrana to divorce her husband and live with the 
rapist father-in-law.  According to Madani, Imrana was given 
the option to leave her husband's house because it was no 
longer safe, but the idea that she should live with her 
rapist is "totally false," he said.  Nevertheless, most 
Indians were left wondering why the seminary was putting out 
such archaic edicts.  Mehbooba Mufti, a Member of Parliament 
and President of the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic 
Party, summed up many Muslim women's feelings in an 
editorial, writing that "Every time a fatwa is issued without 
sparing a thought to the consequences of such 
interpretations, the brunt is always born by women." 
Media Misinformation Campaign? 
------------------------------ 
 
5.  (U) Islamic scholars protest that the Indian media is 
misinterpreting Muslim statements in an effort to 
sensationalize the news and scare readers with the "Islamic 
threat."  Mualana Qari Mian Mazhari, the Editor of the 
"Secular Qayadat" magazine, explained to Poloff that ideally 
"affected parties" are supposed to ask for the Deobandi 
guidance, but a journalist had sent in the question about 
appropriate dress for female politicians in order to spark a 
controversy.  The intent, commented senior journalist Zafar 
Agha, is to "build up the politics of the Islam scare and 
create an enemy."  The BJP is stuck in its own internal 
debates (Ref A), but is still looking for an anti-Muslim 
rallying point, said Agha.  Madani complained that the media 
is running a "misinformation campaign to malign Muslims."  On 
this point, he believes the Left has joined hands with the 
BJP in the fight against Islam.  Some Muslims worry that an 
irresponsible media, under the guise of the war on terror, is 
playing up the danger of Islamic extremism.  In an August 26 
article in the "Indian Express," senior journalist Saeed 
Naqvi charged "participation in this war on terror gives 
legitimacy to the media's relentless quest for jihadis 
within, which, with careless editing and lazy programming, 
begins to touch limits where Muslims find themselves 
demonized." 
 
Or Deoband Power Struggle? 
-------------------------- 
 
6.  (U) Although news reports do obfuscate the facts and 
sensationalize the debate, other Indians point to these 
fatwas as evidence that the Darul-Uloom Deoband is trying to 
increase its power by extending the parallel legal system 
(Nizam-e-Qazi).  Under the Code of Criminal Procedure of 
1973, only matters of personal law including marriage, 
divorce and property can be delegated to Darul Qazas, or 
Islamic courts, to be decided according to Shariat law.  Qari 
Mian Mazhari, the Editor of the "Secular Qayadat" magazine, 
who follows the more tolerant Barelwi school, emphasized that 
the two recent fatwas are outside the domain of personal law. 
 Now that the Congress party has returned to power, he 
believes the Wahabis who influence Deoband see their chance 
to regain ground lost under the BJP and issue fatwas outside 
of the traditional domain.  The strength with which Muslims 
are challenging this trend, the editor noted, is healthy for 
Islam in India. 
 
Deoband Relents and Reigns in Political Fatwas 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
7.  (U) After the fatwas, pressure within the Islamic 
community led the Vice Chancellor of the Darul-Uloom Deoband 
seminary to issue a ruling that individual muftis would no 
longer issue religious edicts on any subject with a political 
overtone, and that a seven-member "jury" under his 
supervision would look into such matters.  According to Agha, 
Muslims were afraid that the controversy would fuel the BJP 
efforts against them, and therefore called for a retraction. 
Mullahs have lost their hold over Indian Muslims, said Agha, 
and therefore had no choice but to relent.  Starting with the 
Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 and continuing through the 
Gujarat riots in 2002, people saw that the mullahs could not 
protect them.  The Muslim community turned towards politics 
to fill this need, and "feels protected by Congress."  Agha 
observed that there is "churning across the community" to 
modernize and think beyond security to economics.  Muslims 
look at the Dalits, he commented, and wonder why they, too, 
haven't made the same progress. 
 
Comment: Fatwas Aren't Working Like They Used To 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
8.  (U) Comment: A dynamic, moderate Muslim community in a 
democratic India is limiting the religious and political 
space needed for retrogressive and controversial fatwas to 
succeed.  Recent political experience has shown the Muslim 
community that the perception left by backward looking fatwas 
hurts their cause in the democratic process and gives the BJP 
and Left parties fodder for their own ambitions.  Muslims are 
analyzing the effects of religious extremism within a 
democracy and pushing back at self-appointed bastions of 
religious authority.  There are still, however, serious 
questions which loom: the Supreme Court has agreed to review 
a Public Interest Litigation questioning the validity of the 
parallel legal system, again putting Muslim groups on the 
defensive.  Ultimately, the ability to debate these issues, 
both publicly and internally, gives the average Indian Muslim 
a say in how his religion progresses.  This is unique to 
India's democracy, and allows the common man to rein in 
attempts by some towards extremism. 
 
9.  (U) Visit New Delhi's Classified Website: 
(http//www.state.sgov/p/sa/newdelhi) 
MULFORD