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Fatwas: All that is wrong with Islam and the problem with Muslim liberals
FirstpostQuran not just governs the spiritual life of a Muslim, it also regulates all facets of life, from as banal aspects as clothing, and appearance to law to death. Muslim intellectuals such as Iqbal have noted that while the movement of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan had pushed the ulema back into the bunkers of their madarsas and maktabs, the Khilafat movement spearheaded by Mahatma Gandhi, along with Ali Brothers, had brought them back into relevance as the Khilafat committee needed fatwas on a regular basis to bolster their hold on the Muslim community. On another occasion, Mohammad Ali toed the classic orthodox ulema line, to declare that to it was the duty of every Muslim to consider Islam as superior to all other religions. The pressure brought about by the ulema, the Urdu press and conservative experts of Islam — including Hakim Mohammed Jamil Khan, the son of Hakim Ajmal, one of the founders of the university — was such that Zakir Husain had to pen an almost abject apology. What the Muslim liberals have not been able to find a way through is the fact that Islam posits the ulema as the only intermediary between the Prophet and the Muslim community; the problem is compounded by another fact — that Quran not just governs the spiritual life of a Muslim, it also regulates all facets of life, from as banal aspects as clothing, and appearance to law to death.
History of this topic
What is a fatwa and why did Iran issue one against Salman Rushdie in 1989?
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