According to reports, a panel of clerics of the Kanpur-based Muslim organization, Jamia Ashraf-ul-Madaris, has issued a 'fatwa' over etiquettes related to use of mobile phones.

As per the 'fatwa' - which is essentially an Islamic legal diktat laid down by staunch practitioners of the Sharia law -, it is a sin to use verses from the Koran as ring tones. In addition, the ruling from the organization said that answering calls in the middle of the aayat - a verse from the holy Koran - is also sinful. The decree argues that people answer calls midway through the aayat, leave the verse incomplete.

Elaborating on the decision, Ghyasuddin, a senior cleric of the organization, said: "Listening to aayats partially is anti-Islamic. This kind of action amounts to a gunah (sin)."

The panel has also restricted the followers of Islam from putting their cell-phones in the 'vibrate' mode while offering prayer services, and censuring their use in the bathroom. Briefing the Press Association, Ghyasuddin said: "If the phone rings and an aayat can be heard in the toilet, it is a sin."

Ghyasuddin added that these kind of anti-Islamic practices leave a bad impression on the young generation.