Mocked: Altaf Shaikh, USA

Retardism at its best.

Relevant news article: Stop meddling in our lives and stick to praying

In brief: The Darul Uloom of Deoband issued a fatwa against women going to work alongside men. In response, social activist Shabnam Hashmi said, "I don't recognize the Deoband. I think they are interfering in Muslim women's lives. They should stick to praying." (Bravo, btw!)

Now we come to the comment by Aktab Shaikh:

Oh please Mrs. Shabana Azmi you are not qualified at all to tell Deoband people what they should do and what not to. Do you even know what Sharia means. If you dont't than please shut up and don't comment. Islam is not just about prayers. It is about 24 hours of life style being in acordance with following the commandments of Allah and following the sunnah (foot steps) of the Holy Prophet "PUH"

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• Who is Darul Uloom of Deoband??
  Self appointed "guardian" of Indian Muslims.


• What is a fatwa??
  A fatwa is an Islamic religious ruling, a scholarly opinion on a matter of Islamic law.


• Who can issue a fatwa??
  A fatwa is issued by a recognized religious authority in Islam. The people who pronounce these rulings are supposed to be knowledgeable, and base their rulings in knowledge and wisdom.


• Is it necessary to follow the fatwa??
  Since there is no hierarchical priesthood or anything of the sort in Islam, a fatwa is not necessarily "binding" on the faithful.


• What is Sharia??
  Sharia is the most fundamental body of Islamic canonical laws derived from four sources: The Koran, The Sunnah, The Hadith and The ijma

Ok, now that we have got the basic definitions out of our way, lets get to the mocking. :D

The fatwa issued by the Deoband is in no sense based on either knowledge or wisdom. In this day and age, if you try to implement word-for-word something that was scripted in the 8th and 9th century, then it clearly shows the lack of wisdom. Mankind and society have progressed leaps and bounds, compared to what it was when the Sharia laws were framed.

The Deoband is not even a recognized religious authority. It is a self proclaimed protector (yeah right!) of Indian Muslims. Following their example, I should probably proclaim that I am the protector of the World's news readers, by mocking all the stupid news and comments that are posted. Obviously I am not protecting anyone, neither are they.

As it turns out, a "fatwa" is a "scholarly opinion" and also "isn't binding" on the followers. So really, who gives a f*ck what the Deoband thinks?

And as for Altaf Shaikh, I am pretty sure if you go through the Sharia laws word-for-word, you will somehow be able to establish that using computers is "haram".
I had read long back, that Islam prohibited paintings and sculptures of living things, because it meant that you were trying to do what Allah does. With the computer showing so many pictures of living things and all, I'm pretty sure that a corollary of the previous law prohibits you from using this as well. Shahbnam Hashmi has more right to give the Deoband a piece of her mind, than you do to give a piece of your (non-existent) mind to her.

And lastly, if you are indeed so strict with following in the footsteps of the Holy Prophet, you should probably stick to doing that, as I am sure they never came anywhere near computers.

*Disclaimer* (sigh!)
I am sorry if I have offended any liberal Muslim's views. I am a very religion-tolerant person and have no problems whatsoever with Islam. The only problem I do have, is against people of any religion who try to implement stuff written by our ancestors which no longer apply to us.