Muslim clerics Law Board for preservation of Shariat

Kolkata (PTI): Muslim clerics on Sunday demanded the ouster of controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen from India and called for preservation of the personal law while opposing the proposal to compulsorily register marriages.
"There has been several attacks against the Muslim personal law which is not desirable. Muslims in this country have their own identity and that can only be preserved by the law framed according to holy Koran," assistant general secretary of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Mohammad Abdur Raheem Quraishi, told a rally organised by the Board and attended by 1.5 lakh people.
Demanding Nasreen's ouster, All India Minority Forum president Idris Ali accused the government of trying to protect her though. "Taslima has not only hurt the sentiments of Muslims, but she has defamed the Indian Constitution. The government should not extend her visa and she should move out of this country immediately," Ali said.
Other speakers at the rally emphasised the need to preserve the Shariat law which, they maintain, only could preserve the identity of the Muslims in general. Nearly 500 delegates from all over the country addressed the open session after the completion of the two-day national seminar organised by the Board after a gap of 23 years in the city.
Quraishi also spoke against compulsory registration of marriages, asserting that by making it compulsory it will create hardship and difficulties for a large section of people irrespective of caste and creed.
The Hindu; Sunday, March 2, 2008 : 2110 Hrs