An influential and conservative Islamic theological school in India said on Thursday that marriages of Muslim couples using internet web cameras were acceptable and legal. The decision was taken by the “fatwa” department of Darul Uloom Deoband in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, and came after two rare cases of Muslims marrying through the internet in Lucknow since 2005. One case was brought to the Deoband school for approval. “The internet assumes the role of a lawyer in such cases and is, therefore, competent to formally supervise the “Ijaab” (offer of marriage) and “Qabool” (acceptance) made by the bride and bridegroom,” Deoband cleric Khalid Safiullah Rehmani said. “The concept was widely discussed and debated over the past two years since the first online nikah took place in Lucknow in 2005.”