According to the Hindustan Times the Darul Uloom, India's leading Islamic seminary, has issued a ruling that "photography is unlawful and a sin." The ruling came from an authority at the seminary after an engineering student requested to pursue a career in photography because it was something he was passionate about doing.
"Photography is un-Islamic. Muslims are not allowed to get their photos clicked unless it is for an identity card or for making a passport." - Mufti Abdul Qasim Nomani, Vice Chancellor of Darul Uloom Deoband. India Muslim Law Personal Board member Mufti Abul Irfan Qadri Razzaqi also agreed with Nomani's fatwa when he added, "Islam forbids photographing of humans and animals. Whoever does that will be answerable to God."
When the reporter pressed them about the issue highlighting the fact that those in Saudi Arabia practice photography Razzaqi answered, "Just because they are richer than us doesn't mean they are also correct. If they are allowing photography they will be answerable on the Day of Judgement in the court of God."
Will this change the way Muslim people start to view photography? If you practice Islam, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
I wonder what the plans are for the photo gallery on the Darul Uloom's seminary website.
Update: This morning the rector of the influential Islamic seminary, Abul Qasim Nomani, has said, “Darul Uloom does not have powers to ban anything. It is the government that has such powers. Our fatwa department simply issues religious advice when its views are voluntarily sought by an individual for his or her own personal use." He however said Islam did not permit idol or image worship, which is why the Prophet did not allow his portrait to be made. This is why images of human beings, whether in the form of a drawing or photograph, are not encouraged. “But there is no ban from our side,” he said. According to Hindustan Times he refused to directly comment one way or the other on whether photography was un-Islamic.
Image credit: Dave Geffin - [Via PetaPixel]
I do see a difference. But if you dont see the similarities you should re-evaluate. Christians have committed mass wars in the name of their god. Even george bush said he was driven by god.Think of it like "the catcher in the rye". It drove people to believe that they should murder. Does that mean the book promotes murder and anyone who reads it is obviously a murderer and doesnt diserve to be in this country? Its just mentally deranged people doing what they THINK they are suppose to do
thousand years ago.. hell will you keep that into account???
you can´t justify anything today with what christians have done in the past.
What about all the sexual molestation? Many priests claimed to have done it because their religion says they cant have sex with a woman. Does that mean christianity promotes pedophiles?
we speak about the EXTREMIST the TERRORISTS..... no need to defend all the muslims.
nobody is dumb enough to think all muslims are terrorist.
if i forgot to write the word EXTREMIST at some point .. please excuse.
but imo there is a difference between muslim EXTREMIST and other religious extremist today.
Thats bull.. reference one source which backs up this claim that these pea do priests do it because they're refused women ?.. yet we can clearly see child abuse within islam,a religion that allows old men to marry 8yr old kids.. all because the "prophet" did it..
You sound like a Muslim apologist! when was the last time Christianity caused a war.. ??and what part of the new testament preaches violence to other faiths ?
uh, the crusades were a thing. that also pissed off a LOT of muslims back then.
How many religions worship a "prophet" that married a 9yr old kid when he was 53yrs old??
Since we're talking about war, let's not forget all the non-religious wars that, in the 20th century alone, have killed more people than religious wars in the past 1000 years.
Even the Crusades -- everybody's "case in point" for supporting "religion kills more than anything" position -- was easily eclipsed by either World War, Communist Purges, and the Holocaust. Even Inquisition is peanuts compared the persecutions that go on nowadays, and I'm just talking political, ethnic, etc.
Wars over politics, territory, resources, or the mere desire to dominate have killed more than any religious war. Non-religious war is the real and bigger problem by a massive margin.
wait... wasent the Holocaust a religious thing? and the Crusades (as answered by Wikipedia) was a Religious conflict... Yea, Oil is a big thing for causing war also... but Religion has caused quite a lot of conflicts...
the holocaust was not a religious thing.. no.
So, killing a load of Jewish people by a mad Christian Dictator was not religious... Ok, noted...
wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust
From your own link: "people were able to escape death by converting to another religion". if thats not a Religious reason, i dont know what is...
unfortunately you did not read everything.
right... so you would be killed if you are a Jew... which is a religion...
If you think Hitler was a Christian then there's something wrong with you
Right... I apologize... I did not know he converted... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler%27s_religious_views he was baptized and confirmed as a catholic (again, got that wrong) but given the statement about changing religions and if you where born one religion, your still that religion (his theory, mentioned above) would he still not consider himself that?
he is clueless with a bad school education i guess.
they saw the jews as RACE not as a religion.
that´s why they meassured their heads, biology etc...
that would not make sense if it was about religion.. an idea.
hell get some education on that topic.. will ya?
People use religion as an excuse for war. Religion doesn't cause war.
Religion segregates people into distinct ideologies. This same segregation leads to war. So Religion can and does also lead to war.
No, they don't all do it for the same "GOD" - have you any idea how many gods there are??? Many religions have multiple gods. The god I worship is NOT some magic person in the sky, no, He is very real to me, and I love him. I am as sane as the next person, not brainwashed, not radical, I just know who I believe in and who I worship.
IF.. if there is such a god as the muslims say... we are all in DEEP SH*T!!!
i rather prefer there is no god then such a grim old humorless bastard they worship....
that people in 2013 still belive in a god that cares about such insignificantly matters puzzles me every day!
i consider myself a practicing muslim (my parents might say otherwise). I have enjoyed photography all my life so this issue is a clash of religious values with a passion of mine. From what I understand, the ruling is one is not allowed to create anything resembling life that was created by god (paintings of people, idols, sculptures or anything resembling a living being). This is to prevent idolatry and false worship according to islam.
My opinion is that these rules may be outdated with the advent of technology and innovation. Some islamic scholars say video is okay but photography isn't. Technically, video is just a bunch of still photos but just being played in a sequence so that should also be forbidden right? With photography, I feel its the purposes of the photo that can make it forbidden. For instance, pornographic material, anything suggesting hate towards any people, just anything that would be morally wrong to document in photography as well. So if it is just a parent taking a photo of their child, I see it as a snapshot of that moment and that is it so i do not feel it would make me less of a muslim, or make me become an idol worshiper or anything like that.
I am embarrassed that high scholars of islam are worried about something as small as photography rather than look at the things that matter, like educating the youth, or advocating peace, putting forth efforts to end violence and promote a unified muslim community.
Regardless, my dslr is still going to be firing away.
Thanks for reading!
Thank you for being the voice of reason.
So many of these comments are outright hate towards Muslims. There is no need for that. Is every jew cheap? Does every priest abuse children?
The real question is if this becomes law, what can/should be done about it? and how can a practicing muslim make up his or her own mind on how to deal with the idea that photography encourages idol worship?
fanatic muslims! ..... yeah wait until they blow up something in your hood or scream "whore" at your sister because she wears hotpants.
I agree that fanatic anything takes away from society. I don't think it is fair for us to decide that all muslims have ill intent. Of my friends who are muslim, I would offer that true muslims are kind and generous.
Also, maybe your sister shouldn't wear hotpants if she is worried about what people think of her.
"Also, maybe your sister shouldn't wear hotpants if she is worried about what people think of her."
lol... and what next the burka?
you see people like you are already influenced.
brainwashed clowns who are willing to sacrifice their freedom because of some jobless immigrants.
like the freedom of religion right? who needs that!
The problem is the ideology.. it traps people in a 7th century mindset..islam is more than a religion ,it is a political and legal system that seeks to dominate the world..
What about when christians protest outside soldiers funerals? or outside the sandyhook shootings saying that the CHRISTIAN GOD killed those kids as punishment?
protests... voiced opinions are ok.
violence, murder, oppression, terror is not ok.
and when someone comes as immigrant in my country he is a guest.
he does not have the right to act like he owns everything and tries to tell me how i have to live. insulting me (or anyone) when i don´t follow his rules.
these people i speak about (fanatics) are always appear in packs here.... packs of wolves... because they are cowards when they are alone.
such a guest.... i will kick out of my house as fast as i can!
and it´s not my problem that the main problem seems to come from muslims here. i would say the same about hindus or whatever.. but they are not the problem.
IDK where "here" is but where i come from (NJ, USA) the problems seem to be with people not accepting others. I hate to tell you but Muslim and Hindu arent countries. They are religion. You can be a full blooded american and be hindu. I even know a few. I know more white, american, rednecks that fit that description of causing violence, murder, and oppression then any other race or religion. And yet I still dont judge a person who enjoys country music. My point is that while I too hate terrorists, I hate them of all colors, races and religions. And anyone who works for peace, understanding and love, I would call my friend no matter the race, color, or religion.
i know very well they are not countrys.. i did not visit a american public school.
g.w. bush thought AFRICA is a nation... well....
oh great now we start censoring certain opinions!! just great!!!
a real american website !!
hahaha idk if you know the law or not but this is a private website. they can sensor anything they want.
still shows the mind set....
I have to say, I REALLY enjoyed reading your comment. As a Christian I often find myself troubled with how people take religion. They are told what to believe by people, rather then coming to conclusions based off of their personal relationship with god. You seem to be a smart man who has looked past the imperfect humanity in religion and have decided to believe that, above all else, god is someone who means well and wants to spread joy. This is what I feel people dont realize about BOTH of our religions. That no matter who a person is in the church, they are not god and therefore can not speak on his behalf.
Religion in general should be looked at at the individual level in my opinion, its how much a person commits to it. At this day and age, religion should not be a determining factor for how you look a person. After interfacing with a person, you can determine what type of person they are but not only based on a religious label.
Going back to forbidding photography, I do not feel it will change anything. Almost everyone has a device with a camera more or less. Whether it be a phone, a camera, a surveillance equipment, or computer, it is unavoidable.
As for Muslims blowing up anything or making ill comments to anyone sister, that could be anyone not just a Muslim. Me personally, i love america in the fact that i can develop an open mind due to the freedom of religion and not being persecuted. I was born in the Bronx so i'm as new york or "hood" as it can get. My religion is just a tagline not who I am as a person. Though religion may influence many of my decisions and actions, it does not define me %100.
Most of the violence from the Muslim world today is oppression by various governments, lack of education, inequality in wealth and just the lack of access to living necessities. I hope the future has a better outlook than the present. and hopefully I have shed a little bit of light on this matter. Now do not take me as an expert in Islam and make generalizations off the bat, do your research and ignorance is not always bliss.
"Most of the violence from the Muslim world today is oppression by various governments, lack of education, inequality in wealth"
wow, for a second I thought you were talking about america lol
Its which context you take it in. In reality that statement can be fit for any nation's predicament at the present. I do feel when the older generation is long gone the youth regardless or religion will be more open and less rigid and formed by religion.
In the mean time, I'll keep photoshopping and coming to this blog!
Well said sir, a very reasoned argument. Thank you.
there are gang rapes in india... but they bother about taking pictures.
India is overwhelmingly Hindu, with a Muslim minority population of 13.4%. Obviously not condoning gang rape, but your comment is irrelevant to the discussion of Islamic law.
13,4% are how much... 140 million?
Folks, please don't generalize those people who follow Islam as terrorist. It is so ignorant.
No kidding. I'm not sure why anyone would want to present themselves as hateful, close minded fools...cause thats exactly what they're doing.
turn the other cheek... until the next 9/11.
Where is all this hate coming from? Saying Muslims "don't belong in Western society" or that they have a "stupid prophet." You can disagree with any religion, but there's no need for disrespect. And what is the actual percentage of Muslims that are suicide bombers! I usually stay out of comment wars, but a lot of these comments are ignorant and bigoted. Unless of course, everyone is just joking...right?
9/11.... terrorist.. taliban... fundamentalist..
you need more reasons where it is coming from?