If non-Muslims can be included in the Waqf Board, then why not Muslims in the Shrine Board? asks Maulana Arshad Madani
Staff Reporter / New Delhi
Top Muslim clergies of India at a press conference here today termed the new Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 as part of Government’s Malicious and Dangerous Agenda.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board and all major Muslim organizations and institutions termed the new proposed Waqf Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha as a heinous conspiracy to usurp and destroy the Waqf properties in the name of Waqf protection and transparency and urged upon the Govt to desist from it and withdraw the bill at the earliest.
The proposed bill not only tampers with the definition of waqf, the status of custodians and the powers of waqf boards, but for the first time in the name of increasing the number of members of the Central Waqf Council and the Waqf Board, it has also made non-Muslims representation mandatory.
They said that amendment bill being brought in relation to Waqf is not only unconstitutional, undemocratic and unfair, but the proposed amendments to the Waqf Act are also against the freedom of religion provided by the Constitution of India, it is a violation of Articles 14-15 and 25 of the Constitution of India.
They said that The proposed bill imposes a ridiculous condition that only a person practicing Islam for at least five years can creat waqf. This goes against basic ethics and the spirit of the Indian Constitution. Faith is immaterial as to the creation of Waqf. However while boasting mandatory inclusion of non- Muslims members in the Central Waqf Council and Waqf Boards, the bill makes faith, that too if atleast five years, as a mandatory marker for creation of waqf.
There is one more contradiction in the bill as it prohabits non-Muslims from dedicating his/her property as a waqf.
It is important to clarify here that waqf properties are not the property of the government, rather they are the personal property of Muslims that they have presented to Allah Almighty for religious and charitable purposes, waqf boards and trustees are only regulated
All India Muslim Personnel Board, Jamiat Ulema Hind, Jamiat-e-Islami Hind, Jamiat Ahl Hadith and all religious and national organizations and the Muslim community at large knows and understand that this is a playful act of Central Government. On the face of it, the proposed amendments are arbitrary and violative of Articles 25, 26, 29 and 14 of the Constitution of India. On the contrary the Government is prijecting these issues in a very innocent manner portraying as if it is beneficial to the community at large. We totally reject the bill, which has been brought to destroy the waqf properties and pave the way for their encroachment.
“We strongly demand the government to withdraw it immediately – We also appeal to the secular political parties in the NDA and all opposition parties, never to allow this bill passed by Parliament” said in ajoint statement.
President of Jamiat-i-Ulama Hind, said that under the guise of the amendment bill, an attempt is being made to deprive the Muslims of the country of this great heritage which their forefathers have left in the form of waqf for the betterment of the poor, destitute and needy people of the country.
He said that amendments have been made in the bill without consulting the Muslim religious figures and taking the Muslims into confidence, while waqf is a purely religious and Shariah matter, because once the waqf is applied, the donor does not remain the owner of the property, rather, that property is transferred to the ownership of Allah.
Maulana Madani said that while presenting the amendment bill in the parliament, it was claimed that it will bring transparency in the work, and will benefit the weak and needy people of the Muslim society. But looking at the details of the amendments that have come out now, it can be said that this bill is proof of the malicious intent of the government and its dangerous plans. Therefore, if this bill is passed, not only the protection of waqf properties across the country may be in danger, but also a door of new conflicts will be opened, and the status of those mosques, tombs, buildings, imambadas and lands which are waqf or which are located on waqf land will be made doubtful.
Maulana Madani also said that instead of Waqf Tribunal and Waqf Commissioners, all powers under this bill will be transferred to District Collectors. Not only this, apart from increasing the number of members of the Central Waqf Council and Waqf Boards, their status is also being changed, and the door is being opened to appoint non-Muslims in it as well as this bill also removes the requirement of being Muslim for officers and members. Maulana Madani said that this is not a Hindu-Muslim issue, but a constitutional problem, and this bill is also against our religious freedom.
He also said that the Shrine Board, which was formed for the maintenance and protection of Hindu religious places, had a clear explanation that Jains, Sikhs or Buddhists would not be its members. He questioned that if Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists cannot be members of the Shrine Board, how can the nomination and appointment of non-Muslims be justified in the Waqf Board? While Jainism and Buddhism are not considered separate from Hinduism, they are considered a separate sect.
Therefore, if they cannot participate in the shrine board even if they are Hindus on the basis of being a sect, then why is the nomination and appointment of non-Muslims in the waqf boards made mandatory? Although there are laws in UP, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh etc. that those who manage the affairs of the Hindu religion’s property must be Hindus.
The press conference was addressed among other by Ml Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, President Aimplb
Ml Arshad Madni, President Jamiat Ulama i Hind and Vice President Aimplb, Jb. Syed Sadatullah Husaini, Ameer Jamaat e Islami Hind & Vice President Aimplb, Ml Asghar Imam Mehdi Salfi, Ameer, Markazi Jamiat Ahle Hadith & VP Aimplb, Ml Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi, General Sectary Aimplb, Dr. S. Q. R. Ilyas, Spokeperson Aimplb
Just as no other religious group can interfere in the religious affairs of Hindus, Sikhs and Christians, So, in the same way, the management of waqf properties should also be done only by Muslims. Therefore, we do not accept any such proposal in the endowment system.
He said that it is clear that the intention of the government is not pure, and through this bill, its purpose is not to bring transparency in the work and to benefit the Muslim community, but to deprive Muslims of their waqf properties and to weaken the claim of Muslims from the waqf properties.
Not only this, under the guise of the amendments made in the bill, any person can put a question mark on the waqf status of a mosque, cemetery, imam Bada buildings and land.
Maulana Madani also said that an endless series of new conflicts can start in this way, and taking advantage of the weak legal status of Muslims in the amendment bill may make it easier to occupy waqf properties.
He also said that we are not talking about one or two amendments but most of the amendments in the bill are unconstitutional and dangerous and destructive for the Waqf. Secondly, this bill is also an attack on the constitutional powers given to Muslims.
If the constitution has given religious freedom and equal rights to every citizen of the country, then some special powers have also been given to the minorities living in the country. And the amendment bill negates all these powers completely.
At the last, Maulana Madani expressed his surprise and said that under the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024, it has been suggested that Section 40 of the current Act should be removed at all while the 2006 Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf and Justice Sachar Committee reported that a large number of waqf properties are illegally occupied, and the current government is also referring to the same Sachar Committee report.
But despite this, it has been suggested in the 2024 bill that the State Waqf Board shall not be empowered to identify properties which are illegally occupied, and to try to recover them. This proposal of the government is very harmful for the existence of endowments.
This Waqf Amendment Bill is also one of them, by passing it in any way, there is a conspiracy to forcefully apply it on Muslims, which we cannot accept.