The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has urged the Union government to expel Ms Tasleema Nasreen for her anti-Islam vituperation.

Following two-day deliberations in Kolkata the AIMPLB said Ms Nasreen had not only insulted Islam and Muslims but had also caused affront to the Indian Constitution which disapproved of attacks on the faith of sections of Indian society.

The assistant general secretary of the AIMPLB, Mr Abdur Rahim Qureishi, said in Kolkata on March 2 that despite her serious offence the government was trying to shield her. One and a half lakh people attended a general meeting which was addressed by several of the 500 delegates.

About the compulsory registration of marriage (as ordered by the Supreme Court of India) the Board said it was not feasible or convenient for most Muslims. In any case there was no clear directive on it. On the other hand, already a quasi-official system of marriage registration has been practised for centuries by qazis conducting Muslim marriages.

The qazis have proper marriage registers of their own and they enter the details of every marriage (nikah) they conduct in these registers. The certificate issued by qazis has traditionally been taken as legally valid for official purposes.

The Board also registered a strong protest against government agencies randomly picking up Muslim youth and throwing them behind bars without much ground. It also asked government to restrain its agencies from naming Muslims and Muslim organisations in every case of violence even before investigating and verifying the cases.


MOHAMMED ATAUR RAHMAN