“Giving Election Tickets To Women Is Against Islam,” Says Shahi Imam of Ahmedabad Jama Masjid
Ahmedabad, 4th December 2022: Today (December 4), the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid in Ahmedabad claimed that giving women voting rights is a rebellion against Islam and weakens the faith.
The Shahi Imam, Shabbir Ahmed Siddiqui, stated in a press conference on the eve of the second and final round of voting for the Gujarat Assembly elections that women are not permitted to offer Namaz because of their status within Islam.
He said, “If you talk about Isla, do you see even a single woman offering Namaz? Namaz has great importance in Islam. Had it been justified in Islam for women to come before people, they (women) would not have been stopped (from entering) the mosque.”
The Shahi Imam added, “Women are stopped from visiting mosques because they have a certain status in Islam. Whoever (whichever party) gives tickets to (Muslim) women rebels against Islam. Don’t you have men (candidates) that you are bringing in women? This will weaken our religion.”
On Monday, voting will take place in Gujarat’s 14 central and northern districts for 93 of the 182 Assembly seats.
On December 1, the first round of voting for 89 seats was held in the Saurashtra, Kutch, and south Gujarat regions. An average voter turnout of 63.31 percent was noted. The vote tally will be discussed on December 8th.
