Srinagar: Under fire from across Jammu and Kashmir’s political and religious spectrum, J&K Wakf Board chairperson Darakhshan Andrabi on Tuesday mounted a hasty defence of a proposed plan for a common social issue for Friday sermons, rejecting accusations of state control by claiming the idea belonged solely to religious scholars.
The proposal has drawn sharp condemnation from political parties and religious bodies, who termed it a “forcible state intrusion” into the religious sphere.
Andrabi, who is no stranger to controversy, previously faced backlash when a national emblem was installed inside the Hazratbal shrine during renovation work, which ultimately had to be removed.
Facing criticism from political and religious leaders, Andrabi said that Wakf had passed no order regarding uniform sermons and asserted that the initiative originated from a collective meeting of Islamic scholars and preachers associated with the Waqf Board held here on Saturday.
She again made it clear that there was no official government decree or any political agenda.
“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?” she told PTI, adding that even Mirwaiz Umar Farooq had highlighted the need to address social issues in his Friday sermon at Jamia Masjid.
However, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah launched a scathing attack on the Wakf chief, calling the move an “unacceptable attempt by the BJP to interfere in the religious affairs of Muslims.”
“The BJP-appointed Chairperson must immediately halt this misplaced attempt to please her masters,” Abdullah wrote on X.
Opposing the move, Peoples Conference President and MLA Handwara, Sajad Lone posted on X: “Pre-vetting & deciding Friday sermons through a J&K Waqf Board committee is direct interference in religious freedom and pulpit autonomy.
“The pulpit belongs to faith, not government micromanagement. Hands off our mosques”.
The Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU) — 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”.
Joining the criticism, former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said the move was “yet another interference in our religion and faith”.
She alleged that it is the “BJP’s agenda” to harass Muslims and interfere with their religion.
She told reporters that just like the Uniform Civil Code, they want to bring uniformity here in the sermons as well and claimed that 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?” she said.
“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 Wakf Board to the Jammu and Kashmir government.
If a decision on sermons has to be taken, it should be taken by the Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema, formed under Molvi Umar Farooq; “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.
Andrabi, however, 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 educated, intellectually conscious Imams are associated with it.
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.
The amalgam asked the Wakf Board to remain within its administrative responsibility of management, maintenance and protection of Wakf properties entrusted to it, rather than come up with “such a devious agenda and unnecessary controversy”.
