https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-fatwa-issued-against-caste-based-reservation-in-ap-1104617
Barrister Asaduddin Owaisi Sahab is wrong in denying caste based reservation for muslims. Infact he should rather champion the cause of SC status for the Pasmanda Muslims otherwise he is not being honest to his slogan "Jai Bhim Jai Mim" and his efforts to form pan India Dalit Muslim alliances would be nothing other than a shrewd political strategy.
Coming to the fatwa that caste based reservation for muslims is "against the sharia" then I reject it as fatwa is only a legal opinion of a scholar which is not a decree binding upon all the muslims to accept as portrayed in the media. The scholar has most probably based this fatwa on the Islamic belief that all human beings are the progeny of Adam and are brothers to each other. Good but the scholar seems to have ignored the fact that the muslims of the subcontinent have been practicing something very similar to the Varnas since the time of Khilji dynasty, when Alauddin Khilji (if I am not mistaken) formalised the division of muslims into Ashraf, Ajlaf and Azlam. One more thing that has been a major issue of the subcontinent muslims is the concept of kufu(equality in marriage) in the Hanafi school, this issue of kufu for marriage has been misinterpreted to a rather ridiculous extent. I know of some Syed communities who have almost made it haram for a Syed to marry a non Syed, I had a Syed colleague who once criticised the Pathans for their tendency to marry anyone. (all of them are not like that, my cousins are infact Syed and they freely marry outside the Syed communities) They seem to be ignorant of the history of our pious predecessors, didn't Ali A.S. gave his daughter (a Syeda) to Omar R.A. (a non Syed) in marriage, do these Syed communities claim to be more knowledgeable than Ali and Omar? Add to it the fact that Syeds are actually considered the highest "caste" by many ignorant muslims, for example when I was small my cousin used to say that "we Syed are the highest caste of Muslims".
Then comes the culture of grave veneration in the subcontinent which further complicates the issue, the muslims (mostly lower castes) who pray to the graves of sufi saints give priest like veneration to the caretakers(Sajjadanasheens/Majawars) of those graves , a position that mostly stays within one family who most of the times happen to be Sayed. The Pasmanda activists are not completely unjustified when they call these tendencies of Syed veneration in the subcontinent as "Syedism" something similar to Brahminism. And all this in the Sunni sect only, I am intentionally avoiding to discuss the tendency of Shia muslims to give God-like attributes to the beloved family and descendants of the prophet S.A.W.
Now coming to another tendency of caste discrimination among the subcontinent muslims, just like the Hindus the subcontinent muslims also tend to use caste names of the lower castes as an abuse, for example I have caught many a muslims calling someone chamar/chamain as an abuse, I have tried to explain that how it is un-Islamic to do so. I have also heard the word jolaha(weaver caste) used as a derogatory term for the people of Ansari community. And on the top of that there have been documented instances of the practice of untouchability among the subcontinent muslims, a thing as un-Islamic as it can get!
So with all due respect to his scholarship, I would appeal the scholar who issued this fatwa to also consider the ground reality of caste discrimination in the muslims of subcontinent and then take another look on his judgement that caste based reservation for muslims is "against the Sharia".
Finally, me being of Ahl e Hadith bent of mind, here is all I have to say about this divience of "Syedism" and casteism in the muslims of subcontinent:
Abu Huraira reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, Allah has removed from you the pride of the time of ignorance with its boasting of ancestors. Verily, one is only a righteous believer or a miserable sinner. All of the people are the children of Adam, and Adam was created from dust.”
Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhī 3955
Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Albani
Further quoting Imam Malik: Once in Madina Imam Malik R.A. pointed to the grave of prophet S.A.W. and said "Everyone's saying is either accepted or rejected except for the saying of the one in this grave S.A.W."
