Shia board to meet President, PM to raise concerns over UCC

LUCKNOW: The All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB) on Wednesday said a delegation of its members will meet the President and the Prime Minister against the possible implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).
The board held a meeting of its executive committee in Lucknow on Wednesday to raise issues of the Shia community and Muslims in the country.
A resolution was also passed on maintaining the status quo on the Places of Worship Act, 1991, so that the original and current nature of religious places, as on August 15, 1947, is not altered. The AISPLB demanded that the Centre should extend protection to minority religious structures.
The hijab row, transparency in operations of Husainabad and Allied Trust (HAT) and demand from the UP government to announce ‘aari-zardozi’ as an industry and help artisans, were also discussed.
“Muslims are law-abiding citizens. No amendment should be made to the Constitution to our religious rights,” AISPLB said.
“Status quo should be maintained in the Places of Worship Act, 1991. As for UCC, ours is a diverse country where Hindus and Muslims lived together for centuries. We will not let anyone disrupt this unity. Muslims are not running a parallel criminal court, so why meddle in personal laws of any religion,” asked AISPLB national general secretary Maulana Yasoob Abbas.
“Hijab is a compulsory obligation for all Muslim women. They should be allowed to wear hijab along with the school uniform,” he added.
AISPLB president Maulana Saim Mehdi said, “Hijab, azaan and loudspeakers were not a problem till now but it has suddenly become a menace.”
“There is no committee in HAT to check deterioration of important Nawabi era monuments. There should be a committee scheme of management to oversee maintenance of monuments,” Abbas added.