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.
The top clergy of Darul Uloom will meet in Deoband on Wednesday to decide the fate of seminary's Vice-Chancellor Maulana Ghulam Mohammed Vastanvi, who stirred a controversy by praising Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, amid speculation that he may be asked to quit.
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'.
Amid government moves for a re-look at criminalising homosexuality, several Muslim leaders have said any attempt to legally permit unnatural sex is an attack on religious and moral values.
Lyricist and Rajya Sabha MP Javed Akhtar has been provided round-the-clock security following death threats received by him for allegedly calling an Islamic cleric "insane" during a television debate on a fatwa against working women.
In a landmark move, leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom on Saturday issued a fatwa denouncing terrorism and declaring it as "most inhuman crime".
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.
The directive has been given by Deoband's Darul Uloom.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
"Gujarat registered a sustained agricultural growth of 7 to 9 per cent over the past six years which was far ahead of the country's national average growth of just about 2.5 to 3 per cent."
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.
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.
The fatwa was issued early this month following a query from one Saleem Chisti, a resident of Lucknow.
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.
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.
Rahul is the first member of the Gandhi family to have visited Deoband and Darul-Uloom in more than two decades.
'Both the countries have signed this agreement to resolve all their disputes bilaterally,' Fazal-ur Rehman said.
The madrassa in Akora Khattak in Nowshera district of the province is known for having several top Afghan Taliban leaders among its alumni, including former Taliban chief Mullah Omar who received an honorary doctorate from the seminary.
The mufti said since the judge was a non-Muslim, the judgment was not acceptable under the Islamic law.
"Neither Imrana nor her parents appeared before the court," Mufti Zulfiqar, one of the nine members of the court, told PTI.
The appeal, it hopes, will help Muslims forge better relations with Hindus.
The then Uttar Pradesh chief secretary, Durga Shankar Mishra, in an order dated June 26 and issued to all the district magistrates of the state, cited a letter from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights dated June 7.
Uttar Pradesh BJP Minority Morcha President Kunwar Basit Ali has compiled 12 episodes of the prime minister's radio programme for the year 2022.
Specially designated global terrorist Sirajuddin Haqqani, who carries a reward of $10 million US bounty on his head, is the acting interior minister while his uncle -- Khalil Haqqani -- has been named as acting minister for refugees.
On the upcoming Ram Temple events, Jamiat said that in light of the recent events linked to the Ram temple in Ayodhya, it deems necessary to draw the attention of the government and law enforcement agencies to concerns about the breach of peace and attempts to "harass and intimidate the minority community."
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances