Pak cleric's comments on alcohol invite criticism

Controversial Pakistani cleric Mufti Abdul Qavi has been criticised for his recent comments claiming that beverages having less than 40 per cent of alcohol are "halal".

Qavi made the comments in an interview with an online portal when he was asked to respond to some fatwa allegedly issued by clerics in Saudi Arabia that beverages containing 40 per cent alcohol or less are halal (permissible).

I think the beverages with less than 40 per cent alcohol are halal Halal means you can drink it, he said.

He went on to say that in his view, alcohol derived from minerals, such as spirits, petrochemicals and other substances, ought to be halal.

I would say that alcohol derived from minerals, such as spirits, petrol and other substances, is 100 per cent halal, he said.

The cleric said that some members of the clergy in Pakistan often use paan (betel leaf) containing tobacco, which they consider as halal.

If a paan containing tobacco is consumed by our clerics is halal, then let me say that modern beverages are also halal, he said.

According to a report in Pakistan Today, Mufti Naeem, chief of Karachi's Jamia Binoria seminary, disagreed with Qavi's perspective and said that his comments about alcohol are wrong and in contradiction to every other sect's beliefs.

Even a single drop of alcohol will render impure an entire pot full of clean water, and all the ulema have unanimous view on this, he said.