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The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the entry of Muslim women into mosques for offering namaz inside is not "prohibited" in terms of the Islamic texts.
"Considering the said religious texts, doctrines, and religious beliefs of the followers of Islam, it is submitted that entry of women into mosques for offering namaz inside mosques is permitted," the affidavit filed through advocate M R Shamshad said, adding that the AIMPLB does not want to comment on any "contrary religious opinion" to this effect. This affidavit is broadly in line with the first affidavit filed by Board in a similar petition earlier filed before the apex court. "It is submitted that the questions raised in the present petition are not in the background of state action. The practices of religion in the places of worship (which in the present matter are mosques) are purely private bodies regulated by 'Muttawalis' of the mosques." Later in an official statement, the board said that free intermixing of genders in the same or common space is not in conformity with the position prescribed in Islam and that segregation of space within the premise by the management committee, if possible. The board further appealed to the community that the issue of making appropriate space for women should be kept in mind wherever new mosques are constructed. (ANI)
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