Fatwa for 'anti-Islamic' funeral

LUCKNOW: A fatwa issued by Marqazi Darul Ifta, Bareilly, on August 27 expelling those Muslims who attended an "anti-Islamic namaz-e-janaza" of a small-time contractor under the supervision of an 80-year-old Sufi saint, has led to a spate of remarriages at Panchopiran.
The last rites during the burial of one Mohammad Zunaid were presided over by the Sufi, Peer Abdul Hakim."This is unpardonable as per shariat," Maulana Mehmood Alam told TOI. Sufism, alleged Maulana Alam, "adheres to blasphemous beliefs and indulges in worship of man. Participants of such namaz deserve to be severely punished."
The fatwa read out by the 20-year-old maulana prescribed punishment for those "who read namaz standing behind someone who doesn’t respect basic tenets of Islam." "Those guilty of such conduct do not qualify to be called Muslims and their marriages are automatically annulled," the fatwa said.
Armed with the fatwa, Mehmood claims to have personally alerted the villagers. "I told them they will have to re-read 'kalma' and have their 'nikah' performed once again. In the intervening time, any contact with their spouse will be deemed 'zena' (rape) and any offspring will be illegitimate," he said.