INSTEAD of fading away into oblivion, the Council of Islamic Ideology has been restored to full strength after remaining non-functional for almost a year following the retirement of its former chairman Maulana Sheerani.

On Friday, it acquired 11 new members, of whom Dr Qibla Ayaz was appointed chairman. The CCI is a statutory body with a minimum of eight and maximum of 20 members, including one woman, whose function is to supposedly ‘advise’ parliament on whether laws are in consonance with Islamic injunctions.

That in itself makes it a superfluous body, given that the legislature is bound by the Constitution to make laws that are not contrary to the Quran and Sunnah. Moreover, objections to legislation on religious grounds can be referred to the judiciary as a check and balance.

A body like the CII has no place in a democracy because it serves as a platform for unelected regressive elements to influence decisions made by parliament.

Misinformation and arguments based on flawed reasoning, if cloaked in the garb of religion, can hobble attempts at progressive legislation. Right-wing parties in parliament have time and again used statements by the CII to derail, delay or, at the very least, water down laws meant to empower and protect women.

During Maulana Sheerani’s years as chairman, the CII was inordinately fixated on issues pertaining to women and marriage — and in the process spurned both logic and modern technology.

To cite but two pronouncements, the body denounced a minimum age for marriage as un-Islamic and rejected the use of DNA as primary evidence in rape cases.

Unfortunately, legislators themselves, even those from ostensibly progressive parties, have by their actions magnified the role of the CII in lawmaking by regularly seeking its input on social issues, especially in the context of women’s rights.

One may well ask why they do not do so in other areas such as the economy, given that an understanding of the subject is among the criteria for nomination to the CII.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2017