[net.religion] Muslim Personal Law " shariat "

ganpaty@ut-ngp.UUCP (S.Ganapathy) (03/09/86)

 I am sure that all netters must be fully aware of
 the turmoil the Muslim community in India is
 undergoing due to the controversial judgement
 issued by the Supereme court restoring alimony
 payment to a divorced women. Inspite of this issue
 being about  a month old there has hardly been
 any discussion on the net regarding this. This
 judgement has been so bitterly opposed by the clergy
 " Mullas " as no others has been in recent times.
 I would like to inititate a discussion on this issue.
 To me it seems to be a mix of religion and politics.
 The congress party has lost the Muslim vote bank in
 a spate of recent elections on just this single 
 issue alone. India Today also had a very good cover
 article on this subject. I would like to know what
 netters especially those belonging to Islam think
 about all this ? In US I am not aware of any particular
 law applying to a certain segment of population.
 What is the role and relevance of the Muslim Personal
 Law in the present day world. My purpose is to initiate
 an intelligent and healthy discussion on this issue and
 do not intend to downgrade or hurt religious sentiments.

raj@purdue.UUCP (Rajendra S Yavatkar) (03/12/86)

	First I would like to point out that the Gandhi cabinet has
	given in to the exigencies of politics and introduced a new bill
	titled ``Muslim Women Divorce Bill'' which would effectively
	render the Supreme Court judgment ineffective. Arif Mohamad khan
	(central cabinet minister) resigned in protest against the Government's
	decision.

	Since we claim to be a secular democracy, I think the rights of
	an individual should be held higher than the rules dictated by 
	religious leaders. The minorities in our country do deserve 
	protection against discrimination. This can be ensured by making
	due provisions in the constitution as has been done in case of
	Harijans.

	But the muslim personal law goes against the princilpes on which
	our constitution has been based. It has hindered the process
	of integrating moslims with rest of the population and has
	benefited unscrupulous politicians and religious leaders like
	Shahi Imam who foment hatred for their personal benefit.

	To achieve the goal of building up a secular state, we first
	need to follow a uniform personal code which would be applicable
	to all Indian citizens, irrespective of which caste, creed or faith
	they belong to.
	Otherwise we soon will have 10 personal codes satisfying 10 different
	faiths which would only accelerate the process of disintegration.

	I would like to request the netters to take up the following
	question for discussion:

	Is(n't) it possible to have a truly secular constitution (devoid of
	any religion based personal codes) and still protect the rights
	of the minorities?

mcb@styx.UUCP (Michael C. Berch) (03/17/86)

Since this dialogue seems to be taking place in a world-wide forum
that is primarily of North American readership, would somebody versed
in the matter please explain briefly exactly what is "shariat", what
Muslim law says about divorce settlements, what the Indian Supreme
Court did, and what the government's proposed legislation would do?

Thanks.

Michael C. Berch
ARPA: mcb@lll-tis-b.ARPA
UUCP: {akgua,allegra,cbosgd,decwrl,dual,ihnp4,sun}!idi!styx!mcb