Author:
Publication: Deccan Chronicle
Date: January 2, 2005
Sharp divisions have started emerging
within the All India Muslim Personal Law Board over the issue of population
control among minorities. The Board firmly maintains that any form of family
planning - particularly, those amounting to coercive means - is against
the tenets of Islam which prohibits such practices. However, a senior vice-president
of the Board, Maulana Kalbe Sadiq, is determined to go against the Board
and promote family planning among Muslims.
Talking to reporters on Sunday,
Maulana Kalbe Sadiq maintained that Islam was not averse to the use of
measures for population control and said that it would be in the wider
interests of the minorities to adopt practices that restrict family size.
Maulana Sadiq's statement comes barely a week after working committee of
the Board had shot down the proposal for population control saying that
Islam did not permit any coercive family planning measures.
Board assistant general secretary
Abdul Rahim Qureshi had categorically stated on December 25 that the Board
was against any means of coercive family planning which were contrary to
the spirit of Islam. Qureshi even stated that the views expressed by Maulana
Sadiq in this regard were purely his personal views and were not condoned
by the Board.
Qureshi also discounted the theory
that uncontrolled population growth would have an adverse impact on any
country's economy. "In India, population has grown manifold in the past
decades and so has our economy. The two are not linked," he stated.
Another Board member however said
Maulana Sadiq was out to embarrass the Board by making uncalled for statements.
"The first-time the Maulana went all out to promote family planning, we
gave a statement that these were his personal views. Now that the Board
has officially shot down the proposal, he is trying to generate another
controversy," the Board member who spoke on condition of anonymity said.
Another statement
Maulana Sadiq, meanwhile, gave
another controversial statement on Sunday when he supported the creation
of a separate Personal Law Board for the Shia community. He said that it
was well within the democratic rights of the community to set up a Shia
Muslim Personal Law Board. There is nothing wrong if someone puts up such
a proposal. The Board, last week, had disapproved of this proposal saying
that there was no need for a separate Shia board and that Shias would be
given greater representation on the existing board.
