Mohamed Ameen Dabhelia – 2018/07/20

A religious scholar (Maulana), who slapped a woman during a live TV debate on Zee Hindustan in India, has been arrested following the shocking incident.

Footage shows Maulana Ejaz Arshad Qasmi slapping Farah Faiz, an advocate fighting against “triple talaq (divorce)”, a contentious issue in India.

Speaking to Radio Islam from Hyderabad, Professor Razia Raffath says the discussion related to Nida Khan, a woman who runs an NGO to support women in Bareilly, north of the Uttar Pradesh state.

“This was after a fatwa was issued against Nida Khan, the fatwa was that she is expelled from Islam, and she should not be buried in the graveyard, and no ‘namaaz e janaazah’ should be performed.”

Khan’s NGO focuses and supports women who have been divorced by their husbands through “triple talaq” (divorce).

Raffath says the basis of the discussion looked at the practice of the triple talaq (divorce).

“Her (Faiz) talk was that the practice of talaaq e biddat without proper conciliation violates the right of every Muslim woman to live with dignity, she elaborated her views that by stating that Muslim woman have become victims of gender discrimination in the absence of proper ‘courtified’ rules.”

Raffath adds that a heated argument broke out between social activist Amber Zaidi and the Maulana during the debate.

“Abusive language was also used, there was a moderator but there was cross talk that lead to a very heated argument and this was a pathetic situation which was telecasted.”

Raffath says upon observation, it was clear that the Maulana was verbally abusing the other panelists.

“What actually lead Farah to slap him was that he was continuously abusing, it was not a one shot decision which she had taken, she became so uncontrollable that she slapped him first and in reply he threw continuous slaps on her.”

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken out against the “triple talaq (divorce)” on a number of occasions and, last summer, the country’s Supreme Court banned the ‘concept’ as “unconstitutional”.

Raffath says the ruling BJP party who administers most states in one of the most populous countries on earth make it very difficult for Muslims to practice the religion of Islam.

“In Hyderabad it’s different, but in UP where the ruling party is the BJP, Muslims have to carry themselves very diplomatically if they want to survive.”

She says the various panel discussion debates are at times one dimensional and backed by an agenda.

“Channels do have a bias and naturally the other community capitalizes on that and whatever suits them, that is propagated and what goes in favor of the community, it is not spoken of much.”

Watch the video below:

LIVE बहस में मौलाना ने महिला पर हाथ उठाया. @Zee_Hindustan किसी भी तरह की हिंसा समर्थन नहीं करता. #MaulanaSlapsWoman के साथ करें ट्वीट… pic.twitter.com/TAkppSMT7f

— ZEE HINDUSTAN (@Zee_Hindustan) July 17, 2018

Listen to the full interview with Professor Razia Raffath:

Radio Islam’s Mufti Yusuf Moosagie says the unfortunate incident gives one a lot to reflect on.

“The way we conduct ourselves and how things are construed and the fact that we at all times need to remain calm and focus on the issues at hand and not get carried away.”