Srinagar, Oct 13 Islamic scholars have decided that preachers will address one common social cause during every Friday sermon in Jammu and Kashmir to create awareness and achieve better impact in dealing with it, J-K Waqf Board Chairperson Darakhshan Andrabi said on Tuesday, drawing sharp reactions from political and religious leaders.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti alleged that it was an attempt by the BJP to interfere in the religious affairs of Muslims.
The Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema — an amalgam of several religious and socio-religious organisations of Jammu and Kashmir — headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, alleged that it was “forcible state intrusion into the religious sphere, which is against law and principles of freedom of religious practice”.
A meeting of Islamic scholars and preachers associated with the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board took place here on Saturday, where the decision to have Friday sermons on social issues was taken.
Andrabi said that Islamic scholars (ulema) and religious guides have a duty to show the correct path beyond the ritual prayers, while asserting it was a collective decision and there was no hidden agenda or “official government decree”.
“The Friday sermon (khutbah) is delivered; teachings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) are imparted. What our religion teaches us about community, brotherhood and humanity and that there should be no evils in society is what we have been hearing almost since childhood. It was collectively decided by Islamic scholars that dealing with social issues is a common cause,” Andrabi told PTI.
She said most mosques and shrines are under the jurisdiction of the Waqf Board and the educated, intellectually conscious Imams are associated with it.
“This was everyone’s collective concern; it was not a unilateral decision imposed by us.
“Rather, religious scholars and prominent intellectuals from across Jammu and Kashmir assembled here and made this decision: With societal evils rising, why shouldn’t a Friday sermon universally emphasise eradicating these social ills? Why shouldn’t this be addressed uniformly?” she said.
“Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Sahib himself stated in his Friday sermon from Jamia Masjid about the need to address the social evils. We felt glad that he also spoke of religion and social evils, noting that all Imams across all mosques should show a new direction to Jammu and Kashmir,” she added.
She said that the leaders criticising the decision should first understand the facts.
“This is not decided by Darakhshan Andrabi or officials, but rather by the religious leaders who genuinely guide people on the path of religion,” she said, adding “politicians have no right to immediately start tweeting before even listening to the facts”.
However, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that the “BJP-appointed” Waqf chairperson must immediately halt the “misplaced attempt to please her masters”.
“This is an unacceptable attempt by the BJP to interfere in the religious affairs of Muslims and will not be accepted under any circumstances. The BJP-appointed Chairperson must immediately halt this misplaced attempt to please her masters,” Abdullah said on his personal handle on X.
Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said the move was “yet another interference in our religion and faith”.
“Unfortunately, it is the BJP’s agenda to harass Muslims and interfere with their religion. Just like the Uniform Civil Code, they want to bring uniformity here as well,” she told reporters here.
She claimed Jammu and Kashmir has been turned into a “laboratory” for the BJP, and the order calling for uniformity in Friday sermons “serves as a testing ground”.
“First, it is tested in the laboratory, and then it is implemented across the entire country. Jammu and Kashmir is a Muslim-majority state. Who are they to decide what sermon our Molvis and Imams will deliver on Fridays?
“Who will decide this? Will our Minority Affairs Minister, who is a non-Muslim, decide it? Who will make this decision?
“Look, it is through these mosques, through these scholars and Molvis, that Islam was spread here and taken to every home. Every region has its own local issues. Sometimes an incident happens in a particular area, and the Molvi sahib addresses it during the Friday sermon. So how can you mandate that every sermon must be identical?” she added.
She called for handing the Waqf Board to the Jammu and Kashmir government.
“After that, the Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema, formed under Molvi Umar Farooq, if a decision on sermons has to be taken, they should make it, as they have the authority. He is our Mirwaiz here”.
“How can we accept that a non-Muslim minister sitting in Delhi, or the Waqf Board currently controlled by the BJP, which has nothing to do with the Muslims here, dictates this?.. This is unacceptable. Totally unacceptable,” the PDP chief added.
In a statement, the MMU said that even the suggestion that a statutory body could determine or regulate what is to be preached from the ‘Mimbar’ is “ridiculous” and will never be accepted by the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir.
“The state or government cannot assume for itself the authority to determine religious discourse and scripted speech to be delivered, or interfere in matters of faith and religious practice,” it said.
“It amounts to forcible state intrusion into the religious sphere, which is against law and principles of freedom of religious practice,” it added.
The amalgam asked the Waqf Board to remain within its administrative responsibility of management, maintenance and protection of the Waqf properties entrusted to it, rather than come up with “such a devious agenda and unnecessary controversy”.
(PTI News)
