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Malegaon:
Challenging the self-allotting authority of the All India Muslim
Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and disappointed by the way it
functions, some Delhi based lawyers, activists, journalists,
Madrasa alumni and students are planning to form their own All
India Muslim Youth Personal Law Board, reports The Sunday
Guardian.
"The All India Muslim Personal Law
Board (AIMPLB) has not been able to address the the Muslim issues
properly. It is more political than a community body and is
ignoring the young opinion on many important issues", the New
Delhi based English weekly quoted Sham Shahnawaz, a student
leader, as saying.
"Hence, we plan to have our own
platform so as to address the issues faced by fellow Muslims", he
added.
The group behind the idea that
consists of around 30 people including students, lawyers,
journalists, social activists, young muftis and politicians, plans
the formal announcement of the board by the end of this month.
Outlining the importance of having
the Youth Board, Mohammad Khalid, a TV reporter, says that a major
chunk of today's Muslim youth are in universities or working as
professionals in different walks of life. Yet their voice is
limited to personal chats or internet blogs.
"All major Muslim organizations are
headed and comprised by old folks. We respect them but do not
trust them any more. We want to raise Muslim issues in our own
way, exclusively from our own platform", says Khalid.
Membership Drive
The group plans to embark on
nationwide membership drive, starting with universities like Jamia
Millis Islamia, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Jamia Hamdard
University and others.
It also plans to start a recruitment
drive on the internet and to form social networking groups to
educate youngsters about the importance of having the board.
"Besides, is we deliver on issues
like education, employment and Muslim enlightenment, people will
automatically adopt us", says Khalid.
No parallel to
AIMPLB
Brushing aside the notion that the
board Youth Board would be treated as a parallel to the All India
Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and might result in
complicating the issues, Shams Tavrez, a high court lawyer, says,
"We are not standing in opposition to the AIMPLB. We will seek
their guidance to run our affairs, but will function with complete
freedom."
He also adds that they intend to
form an advisory panel that may include AIMPLB cadre and other
prominent Muslim scholars and personalities.
Interestingly, the board by these
youngsters has started generating support even before its formal
announcement. Stating that the Muslim youth are crux of the
community, Shaista Amber, president of All India Muslim Women
Personal Law Board, says, "Even then the board is ignoring them.
In such situation, they have every right to run their own forum."
Members of the All India Muslim
Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), however, have declined to comment and
say they were ignorant of any such move and would comment only
when such a formation surfaced formally.
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