Known for its controversial edicts, Darul Uloom Deoband is once again in the news for its edict against the use of CCTV cameras. Darul Uloom Deoband has declared that it is unlawful to install a CCTV camera. Though the edict (fatwa) is a year old, it is gaining significant traction on social media now.
In response to the question asked of the IFTA Committee of Deoband whether the CCTV cameras could be installed outside the shop and the house and if it is Shariat compliant, IFTA responded that if it is absolutely needed, CCTV can be installed, however, Islam doesn’t permit to shoot pictures and thus CCTV camera is un-Islamic.
The fatwa reads that it is forbidden in Islam to unwarrantedly install a CCTV camera, so Muslims should avoid getting CCTV installed. It also urged Muslims to look for better and legitimate alternatives to CCTV cameras in order to ensure the safety of their commercial establishment or home. Darul Uloom also said that Islam doesn’t permit clicking of pictures unless absolutely essential and the CCTV cameras installed would record videos and capture photos without soliciting permission from the subjects and thus would violate the principles of Islam.
Last year in May, responding to a query raised by a Muslim man if it was fine to install CCTV cameras in shop or place where there’s a movement of a lot of people, the three-cleric panel of the seminary decreed that it is against Islamic Shariat to shoot a picture. Consequently, it is un-Islamic to install CCTV cameras and there are other better methods to ensure the safety of a commercial establishment or home.
This is not the first time that Deoband has released a controversial edict. In early 2018, Darul has issued a fatwa asking women to refrain from wearing garish and bright clothes and proscribed them from wearing nail paints.
