'Muslims won't tolerate interference in personal law'

VADODARA: Amid the heated debate over "triple talaq", Mufti Shabbir Alamkhan Sahab, imam of Ahmedabad's Jama Masjid has said that Muslims will not tolerate any interference in their personal law.
The mufti along with Ahmedabad-based advocate Tahir Hakim, who is also on the legal panel of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, was in Vadodara on Sunday evening to attend a meeting of community leaders on Muslim Personal Law and Uniform Civil Code called by 10 Muslim bodies.
"The stand taken by Modi 'hukumat' is an interference in Muslim Personal Law and against the spirit of democracy. Everybody has the right to lead his life according to their religion. It is a democratic right. No government or party can interfere into this right," he said.
He argued that the Sharia permits triple talaq in the interest of both the man and woman as a means to keep their dignity and privacy intact.
"The intention is to save the family from delayed justice in conventional courts and to avoid mud-slinging in public. Even courts cannot take away this right," he said. He also opposed Uniform Civil Code on the grounds that Muslim women already have special rights as they can inherit property from both maternal as well as in-laws side. "Do other religions provide same kind of treatment to its women?" he said.
While the community has already started signature campaign against the central government's affidavit in the Supreme Court, the organizers of Sunday's meet have now decided to intensify the drive.
"We will put up camps in different areas of the city to take signatures of women. Also, women from the community will stage a mute protest with placards against the government's move of interfering in Muslim sharia at Gandhi Nagar Gruh," said Zuber Gopalani, member of the United Forum and national executive of All India Muslim Majlis e Mushavirat.