ONLY LAWFUL PUNISHMENT FOR DISRESPECT TO ISLAM

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New Delhi, Mar 8: Influential Islamic seminary Darul Uloom has said that religious institutions should not pronounce punishment for any disrespect to Islam and leave the matter to the law of the land.

The 'fatwa' says that even if the case pertains to disrespect of the Prophet, only the law of the land can meet out the punishment rather than any organisation or an individual.

The seminary was responding to a question what punishment should be meted out to people showing disrespect to the Prophet and Islam.

There had been several instances of 'fatwas' being issued by organisations and clerics in the recent past, the most controversial being a former Uttar Pradesh Minister Yakoob Qureshi announcing a hefty reward on the head of the Danish cartoonist who made a caricature of the Prophet.

The seminary clarified that a 'fatwa' can be issued only if an opinion is sought in a particular matter and not otherwise.