New Fatwa In UP Bans Muslims From Posting Photos On Facebook And WhatsApp, Calls It ‘Un-Islamic’

The tirade of forced religiousness is not new in India and neither are its unwarranted consequences. Remember when a West Bengal Maulvi issued a fatwa against singer Sonu for talking about the same forced religiousness in a Twitter rant? The same rant that ended in him shaving his head and quitting Twitter?

Well, of course, Sonu did not do it to bow down but for his own reasons but the instance spoke and still speaks volumes about India’s stomach for tolerance. If you haven’t guessed it already there is an addition to the long list of existing rulings and it’s getting difficult to comprehend with each time.

According to TOI, The Darul Uloom Deoband in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur has issued a fatwa banning Muslims from posting their or their families’ photographs on social media.

One of the largest Islamic seminaries in India, Darul Uloom Deoband issued the fatwa on Wednesday declaring that posting photos of self or family on social media sites such as Facebook and WhatsApp is not allowed in Islam.

Why the sudden intervention, you ask? Because reportedly, a man wrote to the Fatwa department at Darul Uloom asking if posting photo on social media sites was allowed in the religion. And the fatwa was the answer for the same.

In fact, Mufti Tariq Qasmi, an Islamic scholar working for a Madrassa at Darul Uloom said, 

When clicking pictures unnecessarily is not allowed in Islam how posting photos on social can be allowed?

While unsavoury comments flood social media more than ever today (remember when people trolled Irfan Pathan and shamed his wife for showing her hands?) the need of the hour requires one to stand firm, on the ground of freedom and progress. That and not withdraw before anything. Don’t you think?

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