A TV channel on Sunday aired purported footage of Muslim clerics in the National Capital and UP issuing fatwas for a payment, trigerring condemnation from community leaders and protests in Meerut.
The clerics allegedly issued fatwas on a variety of subjects, including the use of credit cards and camera phones by Muslims, acting in films, and watching television, said the report on a TV channel that carried out a sting operation along with Cobrapost in Delhi and Meerut. One of the clerics, Ahmed Nadir Al Qasmi, an official of Delhi-based Islamic Fiqh Academy, was shown allegedly accepting Rs 5,000 for issuing a fatwa.
The footage also purportedly showed Maulana Imran, a cleric from Meerut, allegedly demanding Rs 50,000 for issuing five fatwas against the wearing of jeans by girls in Muslim-run institutes and the teaching of English in madarsas.
In Meerut, students of a madarsa staged a protest against the clerics, saying the incident had "hurt" the community.