Ijtihad needed to tackle modern challenges to Islam: Khurshid

Former Union minister Salman Khurshid Sunday said there is a need to resort to ijtihad to interpret Islam to tackle modern challenges before the Muslim community.

Ijtihad is an Islamic term implying a process of deducing legal decisions based on the Quran.

"In modern and contemporary society, there is a great need for a serious look at ijtihad to interpret Islam in terms of modern challenges," said Khurshid, replying to a question on as to who speaks for Muslims in India.

The problem, however, lies in acceptance of interpreters and their interpretations, he added.

In India, we have Muslim Personal Law Board; lot of people accept it, but lot others do not," said Khurshid.

Similarly, the country has the Supreme Court, but lot of people question if it is equipped to deal with the core of Islam, he added.

Khurshid was speaking here at Jaipur Literary Festival session on 'Islam: Multiple Histories'.

He also urged his community members to look within.

Elaborating on Islam in India, the Congress leader said Islam in India is different from what it is in West Asia.

India's Islam is greatly influenced by other religions of our land, he said.

Rejecting any threat to Indian Muslim world from Wahhabism, an Islamic doctrine and religious movement, Khurshid highlighted the facts that Sufism and Bhakti andolan came together in India, which has imbibed the ideas of Saint Kabir.

You have a country that revolves around the kind of ideas that Saint Kabir gave us, I do not think wahhabism has a ghost of a chance of finding roots in India, he said.

Both Indian Muslims and non-Muslims have been united on all issues of international concern about the Islam. India is a country with remarkably rich culture of Sufism and Bhakti movement coming together, he said.

On Islamic State, he said it is a negation of Islam.

Islam is a wondrous religion. There are many things in Islam but what we see in the name of Islam today in the world with people resorting to violence not only against people of other religions but against the Muslims themselves is a total negation of Islam, he said.

Asked about his views of triple talaq issue, Khurshid said it is a completely "misunderstood concept".

The supreme court has come to the conclusion that there is no triple talaq in India. It came to this conclusion after having looked into this concept with considerable efforts. That is the end, he said.