Council of Islamic Ideology (Urdu: اِسلامی نظریاتی کونسل) is a constitutional body of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, responsible for giving legal advice on Islamic issues to the government and the Parliament. The body was founded in 1962 under the government of Ayub Khan.
The council has the following functions:
- To recommend laws conforming to Qur'an and Sunnah to the Parliament and Provincial Assemblies.
- To advise the Parliament, Government of Pakistan, President of Pakistan, or Governor on any question referred to the Council as to whether a proposed law is or is not repugnant to the Injunctions of Islam.
- To make recommendations to bring current laws into conformity with Islamic injunctions.
- To compile guidance for the Parliament and Provincial Assemblies.
However, the Government can make a law before advice is furnished by the council. The council is also responsible for submitting an annual interim report, which is discussed in the Parliament and Provincial Assemblies within six months of its receipt. Recently, the Council was strongly criticized in many traditionalist quarters for its recommendations on the procedure for khula. (See also Talaq (conflict)).
The council was then known as Advisory Council of Islamic Ideology. Its first nine members were:
Justice Abu Saleh Muhammad Akram, former judge of Federal Court of Pakistan (Chairman)
Justice Muhammad Sharif, former Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan
Mohmmad Akram Khan;
Abdul Hamid Badayuni, Karachi
Hafiz Kifayat Husain, Lahore
Dr. I. H. Qureshi, Head, Islamic Research Institute, Karachi
Abdul Hashim, Islamic Academy, Dhaka
Another member from East Pakistan;
Syed Najmul Hassan Kararvi
Muhammad Khan Sherani (Chairman)
Mufti Ghulam Mustafa Rizvi (Member)
Syed Saeed Ahmed Shah Gujrati (Member)
Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Mahmud Ashrafi (Member)
Allama Muhammad Yousaf Awan (Member)
Mian Abdul Baqi (Member)
Muhammad Ibrahim Qadri (Member)
Dr. Noor Ahmed Shahtaz (Member)
Justice (Retd) M. Raza Khan (Member)
Sahibzada Zahid Mehmood Qasmi (Member)
Mr. Ali Muhammad Abu Turab (Member)
Mr. Abdullah (Member)
Mr. Imdad Ullah (Member)
Syed Iftikhar Hussain Naqvi (Member)
Justice (Retd) Manzoor Hussain Gilani (Member)
Dr. Muhammad Mushtaq Kalota (Member)
Muhammad Amin Shaheedi (Member)
Fazli Ali (Member)
Dr. Mufti Muhammad Idress Soomro (Member)
Dr. Samia Raheel Qazi (Female member)
Regarding "Misuse" of Blasphemy laws, the council came under pressure from civil society to award death penalty to those also who wrongly accuse others of Blasphemy. First showing signs of passing this judgement, the council however categorically ruled out any possibility of passing such amendment. Maulana Sherani, Head of the council said "Sections 194 and 211 of the Pakistan Penal Code deal with false statement and registration of false cases, respectively. These can be applied to blasphemy cases as well",so those who falsely accuse others of Blasphemy to settle personal revenge or vendetta can be tried with that law.
In 2016, the council rules that DNA testing could not be used as a primary proof in rape cases, but be used as a supplementary proof.
The Council has also declared human Cloning and sex reassignment surgery as illegal in Islam whereas test tube births were allowed , within certain conditions. It further states that practice of secret recordings as evidence for court cases should not be part of general policy, but it can be done in selected cases.
Regarding the existing law that requires a "written approval" from the first wife if a man wants to go for the second marriage, the council is of the view that these laws are against Islamic principles and therefore should be abolished. Maulana Sheerani chairman of the council said, "The government should amend the law to make the issue of more than one marriage easy and in accordance with Sharia. We urge the government to formulate Sharia-compliant laws related to nikah, divorce, adulthood and will."
In a review of marriage laws in March 2014, CII declared them unislamic. According to the council there are two stages of a marriage, Nikah and Rukhsati. While Nikah can be done at any age, Rukhsati can only take place once she reaches the age of puberty and is the responsibility of her guardian.
The council on 21 January 2015 ruled that Divorcing thrice at once is against the Sunnah of Muhammad, rather it should be given over a period of time, it asked government to make this act punishable. It also ruled that a woman older than 40 can serve as a judge.
In May 2016, the council ruled that “A husband should be allowed to lightly beat his wife if she defies his commands and refuses to dress up as per his desires; turns down demand of intercourse without any religious excuse or does not take bath after intercourse or menstrual periods.”
In 2015, the council issued the fatwa that women are not required to cover their faces (niqab), hands or feet under Shariah.
