We don’t accept any law against Sharia: Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind chief on Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand

Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind chief Maulana Arshad Madani reacted to the introduction of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) bill in the Uttarakhand Assembly and said Muslims will not accept any law against the Sharia.

“We do not accept any law against Sharia. Muslims can compromise on everything, but not with Sharia,” said Maulana Madani. He added that a follower of any religion cannot tolerate any kind of undue interference in their religious activities.

He also questioned why Muslims have not been granted religious freedom when Scheduled Tribes have been exempted from the proposed bill under Article 21 (Protection of life and personal liberty) of the Constitution.

Maulana Madani said Muslims should be exempted from the proposed law under Articles 25 and 26 (which deal with religious freedom) of the Constitution. From this perspective, the Uniform Civil Code denies fundamental rights, he added.

He also argued that the enforcement of the Uniform Civil Code is being done under Article 44 of the Constitution, which says the State shall endeavour to secure a uniform civil code throughout India, but it was merely a suggestion and not a guideline.

Madani further said his legal team will review the bill and will take action accordingly. He said the issue is not about the Muslim personal laws but about preserving the secular Constitution of the country.

He argued that the concept of secularism in the Constitution means that the country has no religion of its own.

Maulana Madani said Muslim personal laws are not made by humans, but created by the Quran and the Hadith. He said there might be jurisprudential debate on it, but there is no disagreement on the basic principles.

He slammed the Uniform Civil Code and called it a “well-planned conspiracy” to attack the religious freedom of the citizens.

Madani also pointed out the inconsistency in laws across the country, citing differences in the implementation of the Indian Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure in different states and the variations in the ban on cow slaughter. He also pointed out that the Supreme Court had fixed the limit for reservations at 50 per cent, but there are states which have exceeded it.