File photo of CII Chairman Qibla Ayaz
Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Chairman Qibla Ayaz on Wednesday termed a provision of the Transgender Persons (Rights of Protection) Rules granting individuals the right to ‘self-perceived Identity’ as un-Islamic.
In a press conference following a two-day meeting of the CII, he claimed the rules had been framed in line with the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018, and contained several provisions and clauses that were incompatible with shariah. Expressing concerns over the social and legal problems faced by intersex and transgender persons, the CII stressed that protection of their lives and basic rights should be ensured.
During the meeting, per Ayaz, the CII also examined amendments proposed by senators Mohsin Aziz, Mushtaq Ahmed and Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidari, adding further amendments had been proposed by the council members. Apart from members of the CII, renowned religious scholars and leaders, representatives of the transgender community, doctors, legal and social experts, civil society organizations, and officials of the National Database and Registration Authority and Ministry of Human Rights participated in the meeting to review all aspects of concerns facing the intersex and transgender communities.
The CII chairman said the council had also passed a resolution in connection with the International Day to Combat Islamophobia and hailed as commendable the U.N.’s decision to celebrate it annually on March 15. The council, he said, hoped that continuous, integrated and comprehensive measures would yield positive results in this context. It also warned that some countries were engaged in nefarious designs to create an atmosphere of fear and hatred towards Islam and Muslims, due to which there were serious threats to global peace. All countries and international civil society organizations should work for peace, tolerance and human relations in the world, it added.
During the meeting, the council also expressed its willingness to join any struggle against Islamophobia and vowed to play its role in enabling an environment of peace and harmony that would allow all creatures of Allah to live lives of contentment and peace.