The recent so called controversy on Bihar Minister and the Fatwa against him needs much more than a great introspection into the way things are understood in the media about Islam.

Let us begin this way, only a few Muslim religious scholars get to the position of Mufti, someone allowed to give a Fatwa or a religious advice or a ruling and this becomes their primary function , which is to give advice to one and any on the questions that affect the daily life of the Muslims.A Mufti's day passes giving numerous responses from trivial issues as how to take bath according to Islam to whether it is permissible to invest in particular bonds or financial instruments according to Islam.This also means that the Mufti are able to give their opinions and seek advice from the other Muftis if they do not have enough competence in a matter.The opinions of these scholars can also differ slightly based on the four recognised schools of Islamic jurisiprudence.

The problem with Non-Muslims is that they consider Fatwa to mean excommunication, death or decapitation and media is to blame for the way they call Fatwa - Fatwa is not given "against" anyone but "on" a particular topic and the Muftis cannot say anything that exists out of the religion because they have to base their views on something that has a precedent from prophet's life or is clearly stated in the Quran.The following is a Fatwa:

Question: Scholars of Islam, as-Salamu `alaykum. What is the proper way to bathe and purify the body after having wet dreams? Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger. Dear brother in Islam, thanks a lot for your question, which reflects your care to have a clear view of the teachings of Islam. Allah commands Muslims to refer to people of knowledge to become well acquainted with the teachings of Islam in all aspects of life. Also, we’d like to commend your concern about purification, which is regarded by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as half of the faith. Responding to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states: “The proper method of ghusl (ritual bath) involves the following steps: 1. Make the niyyah (intention) to perform ghusl for purification. 2. Wash your private parts thoroughly with water. 3. Perform wudu’ (ablution) except for washing of your feet, which you can do later while bathing the body. 4. Wash the entire body, starting with your head and the right side, followed by the left. 5. It is preferred that the whole body be washed three times. The minimum is once. Having completed the above, you are considered eligible to perform the salah (prayer).” (Excerpted, with slight modifications, from: www.islam.ca) If you are still in need of more information, don't hesitate to contact us. Do keep in touch. May Allah guide us all to the straight path!

	Allah Almighty knows best.

Now can one say this above Fatwa - is it against someone or is it on the topic?

There is a huge gap of understanding among Non-Muslims on the way things go among Muslims and either the Muslims themselves have to be blamed for this or if the Non Muslims know all this they simply want to ignore the facts and be guided by what they think should be the case with Muslims - to paint them uneducated, hot blooded and fanatics.

The Bihar Minister's case is clear.Either he or someone approached the Muslim scholars to ask for the Islamic view on working as a minister in a ministry dealing with alcohol.Now, it is highly unlikely that he himself would have approached the Muftis for their views as any lay Muslim can tell you that working and dealing with an industry dealing with Alcohol is not allowed in Islam, even more working in an economy that deals in interest in not allowed in Islam but as residents of a country where there is hardly any scope for Islamic economics, most Muslims have adapted to the national system and there are many who work in the geneally prohibited industries.My own father used to work in a state excise department and this involved officiating big distilleries.He never drank and neither do any of my siblings...

In all cases, this controversy seems to be created by the detractors of the minister who thought they could create a controversy through the minister's religion and the minister might have to give in thinking he might lose Muslim votes. I am a Muslim and I support the minister for his courage not to give in and what's more he is sitting on top of a highly lucrative and sought after ministry by Indian standards..(though when I sleep at night and when I don't know if I will wake up the following morning..I would have not have preferred that portfolio)