leaders of various Muslim organisations in Kerala and the community-based political party, Indian Union Muslim league, have adopted a cautious approach to the Supreme Court’s Tuesday verdict terming the triple Talaq divorce system as unconstitutional.
Not many leaders have come out with open criticisms against the Supreme Court’s decision and most have limited their presumed disagreement with it to apprehensions about the alleged possibility that the BJP-led NDA Government in the Centre could use the verdict as an opportunity to start a process aimed at bringing in Uniform Civil Code.
Most Muslim organisations in Kerala have restrained from showing overt enthusiasm to accept or reject the Supreme Court’s verdict on the triple Talaq issue in totality. Most of them and even the Muslim league have effectively adopted the approach that they should not express their clear opinions on the matter till they study it in detail.
“The Centre should not try to promulgate an Ordinance (relating to Uniform Civil Code) in this situation,” said PK Kunhalikutty MP, national general secretary of the Muslim league.
He said the apprehension prevalent among the Muslim community was that the Centre could use the verdict politically and there were sufficient reasons for such a fear in the present circumstances.
Fazal Gafoor, president of the Muslim Educational Society (MES), shared Kunhalikutty’s worry by saying that any attempt to use the apex court verdict as a launch-pad for a process for Uniform Civil Code would be dangerous. “Mixing the issue of the triple Talaq system and Uniform Civil Code would be very dangerous,” he said.
Hussein Madavoor, vice-president of Mujahid outfit Kerala Nadvat’ul Mujahiddin (KNM), said the so-called triple Talaq system was fit to be abandoned as it was against the principles of Holy Quran and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad. However, the legislation that had now reportedly been recommended was not acceptable to his organisation, he added.
Claiming that there was a general understanding within the Muslim community about the need for reforms in the triple Talaq system, MI Abdul Aziz, Amir of the Jama’at-e-Islami, said that such reforms should be brought about under the leadership of religious scholars and organisations of the general forums of the community.
“The readiness for taking up such an initiative had been conveyed to the apex court at the time when the case was under its consideration,” Aziz said, adding that formulating legislation over the triple Talaq system could amount to violation of human rights and protection of minorities which the Constitution has guaranteed.
According to Sunni scholar Muhammad Jifri Muthukoya Thangal, legislation on the triple Talaq system should conform to the principles of Muslim Sharia.
There should not be a situation where an Ordinance would be promulgated with narrow political interests, he said. He also hoped that the Centre would not take any step that infringed upon the individual and religious freedom.
Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliar, a Sunni leader known for his extremely conservative stand on almost all such issues, termed the Supreme Court verdict as disappointing.
The Islamic laws regarding divorce were very strong and there were stringent conditions for divorce even when it was inevitable, he said, adding that this was also a matter of religious freedom.