As the world celebrates Christmas across the globe, one may think what Darul Uloom Deoband might think about Muslims eating food with the Christians on the occasion. Darul Uloom Deoband, which has a long history of issuing controversial fatwas, regularly publishes answers to queries sent by devote Muslims on its websites. One such question was sent by a Muslim seeking answer about eating food with Christians on Christmas and whether it nullifies his Nikah as he might have committed ‘Kufr’.
In his question to the Mufti at Darul Uloom Deoband, the person said that he was the only Muslim in his office and that the rest of the people were Christians. One of his colleagues ordered pizza on Christmas to celebrate the festival. The Muslim person seeking a reply offered to pay for his share, but his colleague refused to take it, and he ate the pizza anyway. As he celebrated another religion’s festival, he was scared that he might have committed ‘kufr’. Furthermore, he was confused if his Nikah was deemed invalid by committing ‘Kufr’, and whether he had to renew it.
The Mufti said that there was no need to worry about the nikah becoming invalid due to this reason, and said that renewal of the nikah won’t be required. But the Mufti at Darul Uloom Deoband added that the Muslim man has done a wrong thing, and he should avoid this in future.
In the reply, the Mufti said, “Though this participation was not right, you should avoid it in future, but renewing the Nikah will not be required on the accounts of the activities you did there. Yes, if you performed some other things, then you should ask the question again, writing it clearly.”
Deobandi Islam is said to be the most widely practised form of Islam in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, with many senior Afghan and Pakistani Taliban leaders attending Deobandi seminaries. A large number of questions on the website of Darul Uloom Deoband website seek solutions from the Deobandi school on family, health, marriage relationship, and other topics.
What is Kufr?
In Islam, Kufr refers to ‘not believing in Allah and His Messenger’. As per the islamqa.info website, it means “not believing in Allah and His Messenger, whether that is accompanied by denial or it is not accompanied by denial but rather doubt, or turning away from faith out of jealousy or arrogance, or because one is following whims and desires that prevent one from following the message.”
About Darul Uloom Deoband
Darul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic seminary (Darul Uloom) in India, the birthplace of the Sunni Deobandi Islamic movement. It is situated in Deoband, a town in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district. Deoband has been famous for issuing controversial Fatwas for a long. In May 2010, clerics from a Deobandi school issued a fatwa declaring that men and women cannot work in public offices together unless the ladies are appropriately clad.
Deobandi Islam is the most popular type of teaching in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and numerous major Afghan and Pakistani Taliban commanders are said to have studied at Deobandi seminaries. According to some estimates, 15 to 25% of Pakistani Sunnis identify as Deobandi. Terrorist organizations in Pakistan, such as the TTP, SSP, and LeJ, take their inspiration from the Deobandi doctrine. Furthermore, the Deobandi Islamic movement is supported by the vast majority of Bangladeshi Sunni Muslims.
The Taliban Connection of Deoband and Darul Uloom
It is worth mentioning that the Taliban, which has lately come to prominence and effectively controls Afghanistan, is inspired by the Deobandi movement. The Taliban is described in Wikipedia as a Deobandi Islamist movement and a military group in Afghanistan involved in waging jihad within the country.
Not just Wikipedia, but an article published in the New York Times in 2002 underlined the Taliban’s relationship with the UP town of Deoband. The article “Indian town’s seed grew into the Taliban code” explored how extreme Islamist doctrine sprouted in a town in Uttar Pradesh and inspired the jihadist movement on the other side of the Durand Line, which separates Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Though the questions on the website appear to be amusing and frivolous, the seminary’s past convinces us that they are not trivial and may have severe implications. The Taliban connection of Darul Uloom and the subscription of their beliefs among key terrorist groups in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region should not be underestimated since atrocities by the Taliban in Afghanistan and Islamic terror attacks like 26/11 will never be forgotten.
