"Fatwa of three hundred Ulama against Deobandis

``The Deobandis, because of their contempt and insult, in their acts of worship, towards all saints, prophets, and even the Holy Prophet Muhammad and the very Person of God Himself, are definitely murtadd and kafir. Their apostasy and heresy is of the worst kind, so that anyone who doubts their apostasy and heresy even slightly is himself a murtadd and kafir. Muslims should be very cautious of them, and stay away from them. Let alone praying behind them, one should not let them pray behind one, or allow them into mosques, or eat the animal slaughtered by them, or join them on happy or sad occasions, or let them come near one, or visit them in illness, or attend their funerals, or give them space in Muslim grave-yards. To sum up, one must stay away from them completely.''

(See the Unanimous Fatwa of Three Hundred Ulama, published by Muhammad Ibrahim of Bhagalpur)

Deobandis should be declared non-Muslim minority

In March 1953, a poster was put up on walls in Karachi titled:

``Demands: Deoband sect should be declared a separate minority''.

Among other things it said:

``Just as Sikhs originated from Hinduism, but are not Hindus, and Protestants came from Roman Catholicism, but are not Catholics, similarly, the Deobandi sect originated in the Sunni community, but are not Sunnis. The representatives of this minority sect are Mufti Muhammad Shafi, Sayyid Sulaiman Nadawi, Ihtasham-ul-Haqq, and Abul Ala Maudoodi, etc.''

After this it was demanded that this sect be declared a non-Muslim minority. It was signed by 28 persons

(see Tulu`-i-Islam, May 1953, p. 64).

Fatwa of Deobandis against Barelvis

Maulavi Sayyid Muhammad Murtaza of Deoband has, in his book, tried to show that Ahmad Raza Khan, the Barelvi leader, was a kafir, a great kafir, Anti- Christ of this century, murtadd, and excluded from Islam.

(See the booklet Radd at-Takfir ala-l-fahash at-Tanzir.)

The opposite side

Ahmad Raza Khan (Barelvi) has noted the beliefs of Muhammad Qasim Nanotavi (founder of the school at Deoband) and Rashid Ahmad Gangohi (of Deoband), and then added:

``They are all murtadd [apostate] according to the unanimous view (ijma) of Muslims.''

This fatwa bears the signatures and seals of Ulama of Makka and Madina, and other Muftis and Islamic judges. Three reasons have been given for calling them kafir :

1.They deny the finality of prophethood;

2.They insult the Holy Prophet;

3.They believe that God can tell a lie.

Hence it is written about them:

``He who doubts that they are kafirs, is himself a kafir.''

(Hisam al-Haramain, pp. 100 and 113)"

(Tulu'-i-Islam, August 1969)