NCPCR slams Darul Uloom Deoband: Hijab row and Deoband's past controversies over fatwas explained

The National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has blamed Darul Uloom Deoband for the ongoing hijab row in Karnataka, saying it forced young Muslim women to wear hijab in classrooms.

According to a report by Deccan Herald, the child rights body had already sent a notice to the Uttar Pradesh-based Islamic seminary for the content on their website.

NCPCR chairman Priyank Kanungo said that some of the fatwas (Islamic opinion) issued by Darul Uloom Deoband were infringing on the rights of children.

As per the same report, one of the fatwas says that Muslim girls should be pulled out of school if they are not allowed to enter without a hijab. Another fatwa reads that a girl should not attend school after a certain age if the teacher is a man.

“There is no doubt that Darul Uloom Deoband is orchestrating these hijab protests," Kanungo was quoted by Deccan Herald.

As per a report by Economic Times, Darul Uloom spokesperson Ashraf Usmani said that the disputed fatwas were just pieces of advice.

Earlier last week, the district magistrate of Saharanpur issued orders directing the school to shut down its website until completion of an inquiry based on NCPCR’s complaint regarding illegal fatwas.

Usmani told Economic Times that it has removed all the content regarding fatwas as instructed by the administration.

Let’s take a look at the hijab row and what are Darul Uloom Deoband’s other controversial antecedents:

What is the hijab row?

On 1 January, six girls of a government college in Udupi attended a press conference held by Campus Front of India in the coastal town after the college authorities denied them entry into the classroom for wearing hijabs.

This was four days after they requested permission to wear hijabs in classes which the principal denied.

The row slowly spilled over to more colleges as Muslim students in burqa or hijab were barred entry in most of the government pre-university colleges.

In Vijayapura, the girls were not let inside the campus as they refused to remove their burqa. Similar incidents occurred in Bijapur, Kalaburagi and Yadgir.

Hijab-wearing women were met with strong protests from saffron shawl-clad mobs of men outside and inside college campuses.

The court, in its interim order pending consideration of all petitions related to the hijab row, last week restrained the students from wearing saffron shawls, scarves, hijab and any religious flag within the classroom.

What is Darul Uloom Deoband?

Darul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic theological school based in Deoband in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district.

Translated to English, the Arabic words Darul Uloom mean ‘house of knowledge’

Founded in 1866, the Islamic seminary takes in more than 4,000 students from all parts of the world. The madrasa boasts a library of more than 100,000 printed books and manuscripts in Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and more than a dozen other languages.

The students, who are often referred to as Deobandi, start their own schools in remote areas or join other Islamic schools as faculty in India or abroad.

Darul Uloom Deoband’s previous controversies

In May 2010, the Islamic seminary issued a fatwa decreeing it “unlawful” for women to work with men in offices.

“It is unlawful (under the Sharia law) for Muslim women to work in the government or private sector where men and women work together and women have to talk with men frankly and without a veil,” said the fatwa as reported by The Times of India.

In January 2012, it asked the government to stop author Salman Rushdie’s visa as he had allegedly hurt religious sentiments of Muslims with his 1988 book “Satanic Verses”. Rushdie was set to visit India to attend the Jaipur Literature Festival.

In September 2013, the institute issued a fatwa, saying “photography is unlawful and a sin”,

Mufti Abdul Qasim Nomani, Mohtamim (Vice-Chancellor) of Darul Uloom Deoband, said, “Photography is un-Islamic. Muslims are not allowed to get their photos clicked unless it is for an identity card or for making a passport.”

The fatwa was issued regarding a query from an engineering graduate saying he was passionate about photography and wanted to pursue it as a career.

“Photography is unlawful and sin. Hadith (recorded Islamic tradition) warns sternly against it. Do not do this course. You should search any suitable job based on your engineering course,” read the fatwa posted on the school’s website. With inputs from agencies

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