File photo of Kerala High Court File photo of Kerala High Court

A Kerala High Court judge has come under severe criticism from Muslim scholars for his remark that women faced discrimination under the Muslim personal law.

While the Kerala Muslim Jamaat called his remarks “irrational”, the largest organisation of Muslim scholars in Kerala, the Samastha Kerala Jamiyathul Ulama, said the judge’s observations were against the Quran.

While addressing a seminar in Kozhikode Sunday, Justice Kamal Pasha had stated: “If a man can have four wives at a time, why can’t a woman have four husbands. In divorce, women should also get equal rights. As per Quran, women are also entitled to say talaq. The discrimination was brought in by religious leaders. None of them stand for real Islamic tenets…”

Reacting to the remarks, Samastha Kerala Jamiyathul Ulama general secretary K Alikutty Musaliyar said that the move against Muslim personal law and Sharia law was a matter of worry. He called the judge’s remark asking why a Muslim woman can’t have four husbands against the Quran, adding that any move against Muslim personal law and Sharia will be resisted.

Expressing surprise over the judge’s “finding” that Muslim personal law infringed upon a woman’s rights, Musaliyar said that those who live according to Sharia law were also entitled to rights envisaged in Sharia.

Kerala Muslim Jamaat state secretary Prof K M A Rahim said Pasha’s comments were irrational and would send wrong message to society.

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