Bihar clerics not to offer funeral prayers for drunkards

Muslim clerics in a Bihar district have decided not to lead or offer namaz-e-janaza (funeral prayers) of drunkards.

This decision was taken at a meeting Saturday evening by a group of Imams of Bihar's Nalanda district. They earlier said they won't conduct marriage ceremony of those who give or take dowry.

"It is a historic decision not to offer funeral prayers of the drunkards who die. We hope that it will send a strong massage among Muslims not to consume liquor," Hafiz Maulana Mahtab Alam Makhdumi said.

Makhdumi, who presided over the meeting of the Anjuman Faizane Mustafa Committee at Biharsharief, district headquarters of Nalanda, about 100 km from here, said that liquor is prohibited in Islam.

He said it was decided to first socially boycott those drinking liquor in public places.

"We have urged people that drunkards should be socially boycotted but even after that if they fail to end their habit, we will not lead their funeral prayers," he said.

Makhdumi told IANS over telephone that after much deliberations they took a final decision to end increasing trend of drinking among Muslims.

"It is a tough decision as there is no other method left to warn the drunkards," he said.

The Muslim community has welcomed this move.

"It will help discourage consuming of liquors and sereve as a warning for drunkards," said Nayiar Fatmi, a Muslim activist in Patna.

Makhdumi said that after this decision is successfully implemented in Nalanda, they would request Imams of other districts across Bihar to start similar campaigns.

Last week, alarmed over the trend of dowry among Muslims, clerics in Nalanda said they won't conduct marriage ceremony of those who give or take dowry.

"We have decided not to conduct nikah (marriage) for those who take and give dowry in the district," Qazi Maulana Mansur Alam, who heads Muslim organisation Imarat-e-Sharia of Biharsharief in Nalanda, had said.