Fatwa issued against stone-pelting in Valley

After the Jammu and Kashmir police and chief minister Omar Abdullah, it’s the valley’s top priest who called ‘stone pelting’ un-Islamic and issued a fatwa against it.

After the Jammu and Kashmir police and chief minister Omar Abdullah, it’s the valley’s top priest who called ‘stone pelting’ un-Islamic and issued a fatwa against it.

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Talking to agencies in Delhi, Grand Mufti of Jammu and Kashmir, Maulana Bashir-ud-Din, who heads the Sharia Court (Islamic court) of the state, said such violent practices were against “the basic tenets of the religion Islam as its essence is peace and brotherhood”. The Mufti is also the president of the state personal law board and an authority who can give fatwas or issue religious edicts.

“Islam strongly prohibits any means of violence. The stone pelting practice is surely un-Islamic. It causes inconvenience to people and propels more violence,” the Grand Mufti said. He has urged the government to nip the evil in the bud’.

“What I am saying is not my personal opinion. I, as a Grand Mufti, am making it clear. When Islam doesn’t advocate or justify any violence, how can you justify stone pelting? I am saying this in the light of Hadith (sayings of the Prophet) and the holy Quran,’’ he added.

A 10-day-old infant was killed recently during a stone pelting incident in Baramulla. Stone-pelting has become a common occurrence in the Valley, post-Amarnath row in 2007. Streets in parts of Lal Chowk surge with masked youths, who throw stones at police and paramilitary personnel, triggering clashes. Security forces, in return, use tear gas and sometimes even open fire at the protestors.