HYDERABAD, 23 June — Religious scholar Syed Muhammad Rabey Hasani Nadvi was yesterday unanimously elected president of a key apex body of Indian Muslims.
Rabey, rector of the Nadwatul Ulema, a famous Islamic university in Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow, will head the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), which was formed three decades ago to protect the “Shariah” or the Islamic law. As in the past, he was elected unanimously and succeeded Qazi Mujahidul Islam Qasmi, who died in April.
Qasmi’s death had created a void leading to speculation that there would be a contest for the board’s top post. But the 201 member general council elected Rabey without contest on the second day of the 16th session of the board here. Rabey is the fourth president of the board, which represents Islamic scholars of all schools of thought and prominent Muslim leaders.
The board has had only three presidents so far. Qari Muhammad Tayyab Qasmi was the first president. Islamic scholar Maulana Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadvi succeeded him in the late 1980s and continued in the post till his death in 2000.
The general council also elected a 30-member executive and approved the minutes of the board’s last session held at Bangalore in 2001. Shedding their differences, prominent Muslim religious scholars and leaders from reputed institutions in India also discussed a common cause — protection of the Shariah.
The session began Friday evening with Rabey Nadvi urging Muslims to protect their religious identity. In his inaugural address, which was read out in absentia, the religious scholar said Muslims would not be able to retain their distinct identity without following the Shariah.
He said Muslims in India faced twin challenges — one, to work for the protection of the Sharia, and two, to follow the Sharia in personal matters like marriage, divorce and inheritance.
Expressing satisfaction over the work done by the board to fight the threat of replacing the Muslim personal law with a common civil code, he said there was no scope for Muslims to go against the Shariah and follow another law.
