Prestigious Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband has expelled four students allegedly for shaving their beards and warned other students of strict action including expulsion if they 'trimmed' or 'shaved' their beards.
Sources said that the students had also tendered written apologies but the management did not accept them.
A senior cleric associated with the education department of the Seminary, situated at Deoband in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur district, issued a notice in this regard on Monday, sources added.
The notice, issued by Maulana Hussain Ahmed Haridwari, said that shaving the beard would be considered to be an act of indiscipline and invite disciplinary action. "Any existing student of the institution, who shaves his beard, will be expelled," it said.
The cleric also said that admission to an applicant in any course of the seminary would be denied if he shaved his beard.
The 'fatwa' (Islamic decree) department of the seminary, known as Darul Ifta had, a few years ago, issued a 'fatwa' terming shaving of the beard as 'haram' (un-islamic). The 'fatwa' had been issued in response to a query. ''According to the Shariat (Islamic Laws), one is not allowed to shave the beard,'' the 'fatwa' had said.
Darul Uloom Deoband had earlier also hit the headlines for issuing 'fatwas' on issues like divorce and working Muslim women.