Srinagar- A fundamentalist Muslim cannot be equated with an extremist or a separatist, the High Court of J&K and Ladakh has said while quashing detention order under PSA against a youth from Pulwama.
“Fundamentalist an adherent of fundamentalism‟ pertaining to a Muslim who is a fundamentalist is merely someone who believes in the fundamentals of Islam and steadfastly pursues the same. It cannot have a negative bearing on his personality,” said a bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan, adding, “The same is as a fundamentalist Muslim cannot be equated with an extremist or a separatist.”
Therefore, the court said, the contention by detaining authority, District Magistrate, was vague and has been used “lucidly without proper understanding.”
The detaining authority had said the youth is having a fundamentalist ideology and has become a “hard core fundamentalist” and voluntarily agreed to work as Over Ground Worker (OGW) of the TRF (The Resistance Front) which according to government is an outfit of the erstwhile of LeT.
“The usage of the phrase “fundamentalist ideology” by the District Magistrate, does not necessarily mean that the detenue possess an extremist or separatist ideology. The Oxford “Fundamentalist ideology‟ is part and parcel of the Abrahamic faith where the adherents have to necessarily believe in certain fundamentals of the religion to be accepted as the adherents of that religion,” the court said, adding, “Therefore, someone who steadfastly pursues or follows the fundamentals of an Abrahamic faith, is undoubtedly a fundamentalist but there is no negativity associated with it and it is distinct from an extremist or a separatist.”
Ultimately, the court quashed the detention order against the 22-year-old Shahbaz Ahmad Pallawho was detained by Police Station Pulwama, on 8 April 2022 by virtue of the detention order of the same date. “The detenu shall be set at liberty forthwith,” the court said.
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