Shabbir Ahmed Siddiqui, the Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad has started a controversy. He has said that Islam does not permit women to contest elections.
The Shahi Imam alleged those who give election tickets to Muslim women are against Islam and are weakening the religion. He said the contesting women have to conduct door-to-door campaigns. They will have to speak to people of different religions.
“Are there no mard (men) that you’re bringing women in politics?” he wondered. He was questioning the system of giving tickets to Muslim women.
Referring to the hijab protests in Karnataka, the Shahi Imam further said, “If you make women MLAs, ministers and councillors, then what will happen? We can no longer safeguard hijabs. And we won’t be able to raise this issue……women are appearing in assembly halls, Parliament, sitting on municipal boards.”
He said women have some status that is why they are even barred from visiting Masjids. “I think they are giving tickets to women as females control things now a days. If they trap a woman, they can trap the whole family,” he said.
The Imam is being honest. He is presenting Islam as it has been since its inception. As per Quran, women are inferior to men and women are mentally deficient. As a result, Islamic jurisprudence considers the witness of a woman as half of a man’s witness. Islamic law prohibits women from showing themselves to men, except their family relatives.
On the other hand, some apologists of Islam try to hide these facets of their religion. They try to project Mahommedanism as egalitarian and progressive. They are able to hoodwink most of the non-Muslims because of the ignorance of non-Muslims regarding Islamic theology.
