Wearing religious symbol is against Islam: AIMJ chief

Bareilly, March 5 (IANS) Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi, president of All India Muslim Jamaat (AIMJ) and well-known Islamic scholar, has issued a fatwa that says Muslim women who wear 'sindoor', 'kalava' and 'bindi' after marrying non-Muslim youth, are going against the tenets of Islam.

He said that Shariat does not allow women to wear symbols belonging to other religion.

In a fatwa, the cleric said that women who follow such practices are actually not adhering to the Islamic way of life and can be ex-communicated.

He said that Uttar Pradesh and several other states had adopted the anti-conversion law but incidents where couple are marrying after concealing their religious identities are still being reported and Muslim youth are largely being blamed for luring non-Muslim girls into marriage.

"The Barelvi sect terms such marriages as illegal and null and void," he said.

Dr Mohd Naeem, a commoner, had put up a query in this regard to which the fatwa was issued.

The cleric said, "It is seen on the social media that Muslim youth conceal their religious identity and can be seen sporting 'tilak' and adopting Hindu names. This cannot be termed in accordance with Shariat and is illegal."

Citing the Holy Quran, the Maulana said that it was clearly stated that one should not marry a non-Muslim till the time she does not adopt Islam.