Hijab is an essential part of Islamic practices like namaz, Muslim clerics and scholars said on Tuesday after the Karnataka high court ruled that it was not part of the тАЬessential religious practiceтАЭ.
Abdul Lateef Madani, a cleric of a local mosque in KarnatakaтАЩs Udupi, about 400 kms from Bengaluru, said that the hijab is part of the lifestyle that defines Islamic practice.
тАЬIf I have to explain this simply, the Quran and the Hadees, which shares the lifestyle of Prophet Mohammed… if we combine the two, we can understand Islam. In the Quran, we are given orders that any adult (woman) who has crossed puberty, has to Purdah against those who she may marry. In this, her father, her brother, or the children of her siblings donтАЩt count. She has to cover certain areas (body parts). This is clear cut like the five-time namaz we follow,тАЭ Madani told HT.
His statements come after the Karnataka high court delivered its verdict over the contentious Hijab row that continues to grip the discourse in the southern state and minority rights at large.
Prominent Muslim body, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind said that the HC order was тАЬdeeply disappointingтАЭ, PTI reported. The body added that the verdict would harm the freedom and education of Muslim girls.
Maulana Mahmood Madani, president, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (Mahmood Madani faction) said it was тАЬdeeply disappointingтАЭ and the verdict would have a direct impact on religious freedom, PTI reported.
тАЬItтАЩs only since around 2010 that many (Muslim girls) started coming to colleges for higher education as their families were ready to send them,тАЭ Phani Rajanna, a Udupi-based political analyst and a writer on communal politics, said.
тАЬI am much more concerned about moderates in the community where it is the first generation, who are coming out of their homes to get an education,тАЭ he said.
Several people believe that much of this move from conservative to moderate is on account of knowing that their children are allowed to attend schools and colleges with the burqa or hijab, which has now changed.
тАЬWe urge the governments to take action that can serve larger national interests,тАЭ Maulana Mahmood Madani said.
