On Sunday, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan criticized Islamic religious edicts and said that ‘fatwas’ are being used as a political tool or weapon by the politicians. He said that all fatwas of kufr (apostacy) were political and that Islam had no place for it. Khan further stated that fear frequently leads to violence, and individuals become adversaries of those they do not know.
“Kufr fatwas are actually only given for political reasons and have been used as political weapons. Islamic history shows that fatwas were given to weaken the opponents,” he said at an event organized to mark 75 years of the weekly publication named Panchjanya in Delhi.
Hitesh Shankar, the editor of Panchjanya, who was conducting a question-and-answer session with Khan, cited a recent interview with RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat on the Hindu-Muslim relations. According to the reports, Bhagwat had warned Muslims to stop boasting about their ‘religious supremacy,’ while assuring them that Islam and its adherents face no danger in India. Hitesh Shankar questioned Arif Mohammad Khan on the role of Maulvis and Ulema in fostering a sense of ‘superiority’ in the minds of Muslims.
Quoting Islamic ‘Kaul’ (Sayings), Khan said, “Violence is born out of fear. People become enemies even of those whom they do not know.” He also added that Fatwas of Kufr are issued to stop those who do good deeds. “Fatwas have also been issued against me several times,” he said.
According to Khan, the first fatwa for kufr in Islam was issued against a Muslim. “The first fatwa for kufr in Islam was not against a non-Muslim. It was against the man who had been brought up by Prophet Mohammed and who was also his son-in-law, Hazrat Ali. And he was murdered. There are at least 200 instances in Quran where it is said that right and wrong will be decided when people die and meet their Creator. No human being, not even the Prophet, has been given the right to decide this according to Quran,” he was quoted.
The Governor stated that he had several kufr fatwas issued against him since his time in Congress. “I was not part of the BJP. I used to make my speeches in Hindi. In those days, even for using Hindi words you could get kufr fatwa. Dara Shukoh had to also suffer kufr fatwa and was murdered. But the one who got him murdered also buried him beside Humayun. So if Shukoh was Kafir, why was he buried beside Humayun? So, kufr fatwas are actually only given for political reasons and have be used as political weapons. This happened because unfortunately, under the Muslim law that was written, the rights of Muslims and non-Muslims are not the same. So, to deprive others of their rights, these fatwas are given,” he said.
In a jab at people who issue fatwas, he noted that Maulana Shibli used to remark that the doors of paradise would only open for those who had received two or four fatwas. He blamed politicians rather than ulemas and clerics for the endeavour to foster a sense of superiority among Muslims.
Terming the politicians as ‘the middlemen’, he claimed that Prophet Muhammad had arrived in the world simply to destroy ‘middlemen’. He reiterated that a section of Sufi exponents were misusing the term ‘kufr’ to score over their rivals and said that the Islam religion has been taken over by politics since the death of the Prophet.
Khan meanwhile also echoed the words of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat who earlier had said that all those who live in India are Hindus. “Sir Syed (Ahmed Khan), when invited by Arya Samaj, said why don’t you call me Hindu. He said anyone born in Hindustan should be called a Hindu,” he was quoted. He also stated that Muslims were responsible for their backwardness and that no one else could be blamed for their backwardness.
At the event, the Governor also talked about the differences between him and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He stated that the disagreement between him and the Pinarayi Vijayan government began because of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and that there is no longer any conflict.
“There is no conflict with the Kerala government. The moment I reached there, the CAA came. They could not digest that a constitutional office in Kerala could support the CAA. My job is not to support, but to defend. It is my oath to preserve the Constitution and protect the law. So if there is an attack on that, something to which the President has given his assent, on wrong grounds and by spreading misinformation, then it is my constitutional duty to defend it,” the Governor stated at the Panchjanya event.
During this time, he said he met with Chief Minister Vijayan and informed him he was merely performing his constitutional duties. “I told the CM that I know you are a Communist. But even I am not a believer in organised religion. I am rather a believer in spirituality. I told him the meaning of dharma is accountability. And I told him my accountability is Constitution. I told him you publicly criticise me and I will not feel bad. You do your duty and I will do mine. But since then there has been no tension,” he said.