‘Media reports on shariah courts fake’

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We do not call them ‘shariah courts’ as is being made out. A similar attempt to challenge the legality of these centres was made earlier as well ZAFARYAB JILANI, AIMPLB secretary

LUCKNOW: The All India Muslim Perosnal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Tuesday hit out at a section of the media for spreading fake news regarding its plan to set up ‘shariah courts’ in each district of the country.

“@AIMPLB_Official never demanded a parallel court system. It has been and will be running Darul Qazas under the arbitration act. Our Darul Qazas are only arbitration centers that are helping the society. Please ignore fake news,” it tweeted.

AIMPLB secretary Zafaryab Jilani said there was no proposal for setting up new ‘darul qazas’ on the agenda of the board’s meeting in New Delhi on July 15. “We had set up our first centre in 1993 and more centres have come up since. Their progress report is presented to the board from time to time,” he said.

“We do not call them ‘shariah courts’ as is being made out by a section of the media. A similar attempt to stoke a controversy and challenge the legality of these centres was made earlier too, and a petition was filed in the Supreme Court, which upheld their validity in 2014.”

Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahli, a member of the board’s executive council, said it was precisely to counter these propaganda and misinformation that the body had decided to constitute a special panel of its own to present the “true picture”.

A case in point was also the heat generated on the instant triple divorce bill, Mahli said.

“The board is very happy with the way its women members led a countrywide protest and played an active role in the passing of triple talaq bill.”

He said the campaign not only created awareness but also helped in removing misconceptions among both Muslims and non-Muslims that instant triple divorce was one of the most deplorable practices and should be shunned by the community.

Meanwhile, Uttar pradesh’s Shia Central Waqf Board chairman Waseem Rizvi, who had demanded a ban on the AIMPLB for setting up these centres, said on Tuesday that he had received death threats from Pakistanbased Jamat-e-Islami for his statement. Rizvi has been provided Y category security by the state government after he got similar threats from some Muslim organisations for his controversial remarks on ‘madrasas.’