His remarks against Narendra Modi nearly cost him his job, but Maulana Ghulam Mohammed Vastanvi will for now remain vice chancellor of Asia's largest Islamic seminary,Darul Uloom Deoband in Uttar Pradesh.
Editor of the Milli Gazette and former president of the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat Zafrul Islam Khan tells rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa that this entire controversy is the result of a war between two factions of the Darul Uloom.
Maulana Gulam Mohammad Vastanvi, who stirred a controversy with his remarks on Gujarat, on Thursday said he has not resigned as the vice chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband. "I have not yet resigned. A meeting of the Majlis-e-Soora (governing council) will be held on February 23, which scholars from all over the country will attend. I will present my case and they will decide on whether I should continue or not," said Vastanvi.
Ghulam Mohammed Vastanvi, the first Gujarati rector of the Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband in Uttar Pradesh, is finding himself in the eye of the storm, barely 10 days after he appointed to the post. The Muslim community across the country has been up in arms against Vastanvi after his remark on 'prosperity of Narendra Modi's Gujarat'.
Leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband has said that wearing jeans or other tight-fitting clothes is not appropriate as per religious beliefs. In a posting on Tuesday, the seminary said wearing 'skin-tight' dresses is 'not lawful' and that clothes should be 'loose and simple'. In another controversial observation, it said a couple should first seek the opinion of a hakim or Unani practitioner before using contraceptives if needed for medical reasons.
"We have full confidence in the judicial system of the country. We appeal to the people to respect the verdict of the court and maintain peace and communal harmony in the country," the seminary's deputy vice-chancellor Maulana Abdul Khalique Madrasi said
A huge conclave of madrassas (seminary) from across the country, under the aegis of Asia's most revered Islamic seminary, Darul Uloom Deoband, on Monday declared that all acts of terrorism as 'unislamic'.
In a fresh fatwa, Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deboand has said that Islam does not permit celebrating birthdays. Responding to a query posed by a woman, the country's biggest Islamic seminary observed that the tradition to celebrate birthdays was started by the Jews and Christians, but Islam does not permit this practice. The Darul Uloom Deoband has in recent days issued edicts declaring that working in banks and opting for an insurance policy were against Islam.
Denying charges that Madarasas were terror hubs, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind General Secretary Maulana Hakimuddin Qasmi has said that Darul Uloom or any Madarasa in the country never harboured terror activities.
Leading Islamic seminaries in the country on Tuesday responded differently to the fatwa issued by a North America-based Muslim body against full-body scanning for security checks with some endorsing the ruling and others opposing it.
Muslim cleric, Maulana Arshad Madani, on Tuesday backed Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband''s appeal to the Central government to cancel the visa of acclaimed author Salman Rushdie, stating that he has hurt the sentiments of the Muslims in the past.
Amid controversy over his remarks on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Maulana Gulam Mohammad Vastanvi, who has announced his decision to resign as vice chancellor of Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband, has said that people in Gujarat felt that development is happening in the state.
In a potentially controversial decree, Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband has said that donation of blood and body parts was against the tenets of Islam, but observed that giving blood to save the life of a near and dear one was acceptable.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Maulana Abdul Khalique said guidlines in "ahkame idul zuah (concept of sacrifice), an instruction book brought out by the seminary, say that Muslims should avoid slaughtering cows where ever it is banned."
The senior-most Muslim leaders of the country have appealed to all citizens to maintain peace and calm after the verdict on the Babri Masjid title suit is pronounced on September 24.
A fatwa is not an order but a guidance of principle and any one can abide by it or ignore it, in-charge of the fatwa department of the seminary Mufti Habibur Rehman told media persons on Friday evening.
Darul Uloom Deoband head Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi on Thursday said he will abide by the decision of a three-member panel probing his pro-Narendra Modi remarks and won't challenge in court the outcome if it is against him.
From banning wearing of wig during prayers to prohibiting having test tube baby Islamic scholars are now raising questions on the relevance of a number of such fatwas issued by the country's largest seminary, the Darul Uloom Deoband.
Television is a tool of enjoyment and most widely used for 'prohibited' things and impossible to use 'without a sin,' says a fatwa by Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband, a view brushed aside by three influential Muslim organisations.
The Shiv Sena,on Monday, came out in support of lyricist and Rajya Sabha MP Javed Akhtar, who is facing threat from hardliners after he criticised the fatwa issued by Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband against working Muslim women.
Maulana Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi, the new vice-chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband tells Gyan Varma that he never praised Narendra Modi
The deputy in-charge of the Darul Uloom's fatwa department, Mufti Ahsan Kasmi, said conversion to Islam must be in good faith and not for getting something
Darul Uloom, Deoband, has upheld a 'fatwa' against Ashraf by a Patna-based Shariat committee, which asked the minister to relinquish his post. Soon after Ashraf was assigned the registration and excise department by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on April 13, 'Imarat-e-Sharia' in Patna had asked Ashraf not to hold the ministry, which dealt with something that was haram (prohibited) in Islam.
Terming the practice of power theft as an act prohibited by their religion, Islamic body Darul Uloom Deoband has issued a fatwa directing Muslims to refrain from any illegal use of electricity. The fatwa came following a request by a person, who sought formal direction on the issue of illegal use of electricity.
Clerics at Uloom's Darul ifta, the body which issues fatwas, says contraceptives are permissible so that 'the children are properly nourished.'
Stating the process to be a haram (sin), the fatwa said: "The child born out of husband's semen will be regarded Sabit-un-nasab (one's own descendant), when the husband himself inserts the semen into the uterus of his wife. Otherwise it is a haram to get it done by any doctor". Another Muslim organisation, Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind, said there is no need for the seminary to issue strict guidelines on the issue and it should be legalised if couples are not left with any choice.
Lyricist and Rajya Sabha member Javed Akhtar on Saturday lodged a case with the Mumbai police after he received an e-mail threat for criticising a fatwa banning women working with men.In the complaint, Akhtar said that he received an email in which it was stated that the countdown to his end has begun. The email also dared Akhtar to try to save himself if he could.On Tuesday, the Darul Uloom Deoband, in a Talibanesque fatwa, decreed that it is 'haram' and illegal.
Suicide attacks by terrorists in the name of Islam are "un-Islamic", the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e Hind a prominent Muslim body, said on Monday. The body, which has its association with the Darul Uloom Deoband also announced holding of a meeting of religious leaders in Mumbai on February 14 to denounce acts of violence.
The fatwa was issued early this month following a query from one Saleem Chisti, a resident of Lucknow.
A prominent Islamic body has issued a decree asking Muslims to exercise their franchise but said one should not vote for a party or leader just on the basis of religion. "The vote should not be kept back," leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband said in a fatwa in response to a question whether Muslims should vote in the elections.
Criticising the Deoband's edict that Imrana, a woman who was allegedly raped by her father-in-law in Muzaffarnagar, cannot live with her husband, Islamic law expert Tahir Mahmood on Tuesday said the woman's fate cannot be decided by ancient law.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders Ambrish Singh and B N Shukla, in a joint statement, also condemned the Darul Uloom for criticising the Madhya Pradesh government for making recital of 'Vande Matram' in government officials mandatory.
"Neither Imrana nor her parents appeared before the court," Mufti Zulfiqar, one of the nine members of the court, told PTI.
Chief Rector of Darul Uloom, Maulana Abul Qasim Nomani, has asked Saudi Arabia to rethink its decision, saying otherwise a wrong message may be conveyed to Muslims.
Jamat-e-Islami Hind on Friday backed the fatwa issued by the Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband against chanting of "Bharat Mata Ki Jai"
With discussions on the UCC taking centrestage, he said the BJP government in the state will move towards implementing one law for all, "only after talking to all the parties".
The Aligarh Muslim University Teachers' Association on Thursday urged political parties "not to play politics over the dead bodies" of the victims of the communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar.
Sources in the prominent Muslim body Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind said it was not in favour of filing a review petition and wants the matter to end.
As controversy continues over senior Uttar Pradesh Minister Azam Khan keeping away from its Agra meet, Samajwadi Party on Friday said no one can "blackmail" the party as nobody has the stature which supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav enjoys among the Muslim community.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances