Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi, the National President of the All India Muslim Jamaat, issued a fatwa on Sunday advising Muslims to abstain from participating in New Year celebrations. The fatwa, issued by Chashme Darfta Bareilly, instructs both young Muslim men and women to avoid the festivities, emphasizing that such celebrations, associated with the Christian calendar, are not part of Islamic traditions and are therefore prohibited. Razvi highlighted that New Year should not be viewed with pride, and Muslims should not engage in or offer congratulations for the occasion. He urged the youth to focus on religious practices aligned with their faith instead of partaking in celebrations that contradict Islamic teachings. “New boys and girls have been instructed not to celebrate New Year. Muslims should avoid celebrating New Year,” Razvi stated. Additionally, Razvi expressed his opposition to the potential lifting of the ban on Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, following reports that the book was being made available for sale again after more than three decades. He argued that lifting the ban could harm the social and religious harmony of the country and called for continued enforcement of the ban, which was originally imposed in the 1980s.
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