Indian Clerics Tell Muslim Girls Not to Post 'Selfies' on Facebook

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Clerics in India have denounced "Facebook selfies" as un-Islamic and forbidden Muslim girls from posting pictures of themselves on social networks.

Two leading helplines for young Muslims seeking guidance have warned teenagers that in Islam the only men who should see their faces are close relatives and their husbands.

Their edict will be difficult to enforce within India's growing ranks of middle class Muslims among whom social networking is as popular as it is in the West.

Sunni and Shia clerics have warned them, however, that true relationships and friendships cannot be made over the internet and that it is wrong for girls to project their charms online. » | Dean Nelson, South Asia editor | Monday, August 12, 2013

Darul Uloom Labels Saif, Kareena Marriage As Anti-Islam

THE TIMES OF INDIA: Leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband termed as "anti-Islam" the wedlock between film actors Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan, saying the bride did not convert to Islam before the marriage.

The Islamic institution located in Deoband, a town in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, said,"Kareena did not convert to Islam before her marriage with Saif. Islam does not approve of such marriages."

"According to the Muslim laws, since Kapoor has not converted to Islam, this marriage is anti-Islam," said Habibur Rahman, a senior cleric of the seminary.

Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor tied the knot on October 16. The couple got their marriage registered in Mumbai. » | PTI | Thursday, October 18, 2012

Muslim Women in India Seek Gender Equality in Marriage
THE NEW YORK TIMES: NEW DELHI — Three years ago, Salma Khatun’s husband divorced her in a fit of rage after a quarrel, pronouncing what is known as the triple talaq in the presence of witnesses. The triple talaq is a formula of repudiation. The first two times it is pronounced, it can be revoked, but the third time it makes a divorce binding, according to some interpretations of Islamic law.

Although Ms. Khatun’s husband repented the next morning, the head cleric of their mosque in Delhi insisted that the divorce was binding. According to his reading of Islamic law, Ms. Khatun would need to marry another man, consummate the marriage and then divorce before she could remarry her husband.

For more than a decade, Muslim women’s organizations in India have been fighting for changes in the body of Islamic law that governs marriage, divorce and the property rights of women. But as the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board held its annual convention in Mumbai last week, the battle lines had never been so starkly drawn. Although the Indian Constitution guarantees equal rights to all citizens irrespective of their religion, Muslims are governed by the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937. Attempts to apply a common civil code have often been viewed as interference in the practices of India’s largest religious minority. » | Nilanjana S. Roy | Tuesday, April 24, 2012

India’s Muslims, Lack of Jihadists

Muslims in India

Villagers Burn Girl Alive in India
DAILY EXPRESS: A teenager has been burned to death at her home in India in an "honour killing" by neighbours.

Flag of India courtesy of Google Images
Four residents of her village in Ghaziabad, north India, allegedly set the 16-year-old Muslim girl alight after they suspected her of having a relationship with a boy.



Police claim residents kept a vigil on her house as they noticed the boy visited her frequently when her father was away. 



The four men then beat her, doused her with kerosene and set her on fire. >>> | Tuesday, March 24, 2009