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New Waqf bill a cause of concern, says Mirwaiz
Chief cleric of Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that it was aimed at potential “disempowerment of Muslims” and called it “interference” in religious matters.
Chief cleric of Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Friday raised concerns over the proposed amendments to Waqf Act.
He said that it was aimed at potential “disempowerment of Muslims” and called it “interference” in religious matters.
According to a statement, Mirwaiz, while addressing the Friday congregation at historic Jamia Masjid, Srinagar, said that the Government of India introduced a Bill in the Parliament seeking to amend the Waqf Act, and bring sweeping changes to how Waqfs are governed and regulated. “(It is) causing great anguish and concern to the Muslims in India and naturally in Muslim majority Jammu & Kashmir where most of our mosques, shrines, Khanqas come under the Waqf Board,” he said.
A day after the Centre proposed sending the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, to a joint parliamentary committee, the Lok Sabha on Friday adopted a motion naming 21 members to the committee to review the Bill. The Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on Thursday and referred to a joint parliamentary panel after several Opposition members expressed concerns about the bill’s potential impact on the federal structure and its “encroachment on religious autonomy”.
Mirwaiz alleged that many controversial provisions have been proposed, including changing the composition of the board. “Non-Muslims will now be made part of the board, and a non-Muslim can even be made the CEO of the board, which is a direct interference in religious matters,” he said.
Mirwaz said that in the proposed bill one has to be a Muslim for at least five years to waqf (donate) his/ her property “which is ridiculous”.
“Further a district collector will now make the decision in case of dispute on the final status of the waqf land -whether it is waqf property or government land. And since this government has come to power many disputes have been raked around mosques, and till the dispute is settled the land will be deemed to be government land,” he said.
He said that the amendment also wants to remove the concept of “waqf by use”.
“Hundreds of waqf mosques are centuries old and some don’t have documents to prove it. All those will then be deemed to be on government land,” he said.
