LUCKNOW: One of the most prominent Islamic seminaries Darul Uloom Deoband has come out with another ‘Fatwa’. This time New Year celebrations are on the target of the Muftis of Asia’s biggest seminary based in Saharanpur. The religious leaders of Deoband have directed the Muslim community and the followers of Islam to stay away from the New Year celebrations both on December 31 and January 1 calling it anti-Islamic.
According to Maulana Mufti Tariq Kasmi, senior ustad of Madarsa Jamia Hussainia of Deoband. neither revelries nor cutting of the cake on New Year was allowed in Islam. Even greeting each other on new year was anti-Islamic more so the birthday celebrations and greeting each other on Christmas was also prohibited in Islam.
According to Mufti Tariq, in Islam, the new year starts from Moharram. “So those who believe in Islam and are Muslim should avoid participation in such celebrations keeping away from such practices,” said Mufti Tariq.
Meanwhile, some Hindu organisations have also expressed reservation over New Year celebrations claiming that January 1 cannot be deemed new year as Hindu calendar –Vikram Samvat-- starts from the first day of Chaitra Navratra in April. So it should be celebrated as the new year.
Dar-ul-Uloom has been in the practice of issuing such farmans and fatwas from time to time to ‘keep the Muslim community much within the realm of Islam’. In 2015, it had put a ban on the use of the smartphone with multimedia on its campus by issuing a fatwa claiming that use of smartphones was anti-Islamic and students were getting distracted due to it. They claimed that ban on smartphones was a step to discipline the students pursuing Islamic education.
Darul Uloom often hogs limelight owing to the fatwas it issues for Muslims. In the month of October this year, while it issued a fatwa barring Muslim men and women from posting their or their families' photographs on social media sites, on the other, there was an edict from the seminary against women going to beauty parlour or wearing jeans.