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Scholars and Politicians in Kashmir Reject Waqf Board Plan for Common Friday Sermon Topics
The Board’s Chairperson Says No Binding Order Was Issued; the Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema Calls the Pulpit a Trust of the Scholars and Launches Its Own Voluntary Sermon Programme
India · Srinagar |
The Waqf Board’s Decision
Reported by the source
The Waqf Board of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir met muftis, imams and khateebs at its central office in Srinagar on 10 October. The meeting decided to set up a “core committee” to identify common topics for Friday sermons at the shrines, Jamia mosques and other religious institutions associated with the Board. The committee is to fix the topics in advance and pass them on to the scholars concerned. [1]
Official position as reported by the source
According to the Board’s account, the topics are to focus on religious awareness, moral values, social harmony and unity in line with Islamic teachings. The Board’s chairperson, Darakhshan Andrabi, said the decision was meant to reform society and to tackle social evils. [1]
Reported by the source
According to Deccan Chronicle, two clerics from Jammu who took part in the Board’s online meeting said that several scholars objected to the plan, but that Andrabi overruled them, saying the decision had been taken four years earlier. This account rests on unnamed participants. [5]
Reactions from Scholars and Politicians
Community position as reported by the source
The Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, said on 13 October that even the suggestion that a statutory body could determine what is preached from the pulpit was unacceptable. In the MMU’s view, the pulpit is an amanah, a sacred trust, and religious guidance belongs to scholars, imams and recognised religious institutions rooted in the traditions of the different schools of thought. [2]
Community position as reported by the source
The MMU drew a clear line between scholars coming together voluntarily on shared religious and social concerns and a state-linked administrative body seeking to set sermon topics, and called on the Board to confine itself to managing, maintaining and protecting waqf property. The MMU brings together organisations of different traditions, among them Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid, Darul Uloom Rahimiyah, Jamiat Ahle Hadith, Anjuman Shariee Shian and Anjuman Nusrat-ul-Islam. [2]
Official position as reported by the source
Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, wrote on X that the plan was “an unacceptable attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to interfere in the religious affairs of Muslims” and would not be accepted under any circumstances. [4]
Reported by the source
Mehbooba Mufti, president of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), also opposed the plan and called for the administration of waqf in the territory to be transferred to the elected government and for sermon matters to be left to the MMU headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. [2]
The Board Chairperson’s Response
Official position as reported by the source
At a press conference in Srinagar on 13 October, the Board’s chairperson said that no order had been issued making a common sermon mandatory: “There is no order. There is no order anywhere.” According to Andrabi, scholars and imams will choose the topics themselves, and the core committee will be formed by religious leaders. [4][3]
Official position as reported by the source
Andrabi said the initiative was meant to address social problems such as drug addiction, suicide and the difficulties of young people, and that neither the BJP nor the RSS played any role. Saying that no binding order existed, she rejected calls to withdraw the decision. [3]
The MMU’s Voluntary Sermon Programme
Reported by the source
On Friday, 16 October, the MMU held its first coordinated sermon in mosques and imambargahs across the Kashmir Valley, Jammu, the Chenab valley, Kargil and Leh, on the theme of iman, faith. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq delivered the central sermon at the historic khanqah of Charar-e-Sharief. According to MMU members, the voluntary programme had been agreed at an Ulema Conference on 15 September and was brought forward after the Waqf Board’s move. [5]
Official position as reported by the source
Andrabi told the same newspaper that the controversy stemmed from a misinterpretation and that imams would remain free to frame their sermons. [5]
DinAtlas interpretation
At the heart of the dispute is the question of who decides what is said in the Friday sermon. The Board says common topics would be chosen by a committee of scholars and would not be binding. The MMU sees a state-linked body proposing topics for the pulpit as interference in religious autonomy, and answers the same social needs with its own voluntary programme. The sources reviewed contain no written order from the Board, and it is not yet known whether the core committee has been formed. [1][2][3][5]
Related pages
Sources5
Each paragraph shows what kind of statement it is and which source it rests on.
Waqf Board to constitute Core Committee for uniform Friday sermons
'Not acceptable': MMU rejects Waqf Board's push for 'uniform sermons' during Friday prayers
No order on uniform Friday sermons, says Waqf chief Darakhshan Andrabi
J&K Waqf board chief denies reports about pushing for uniform Friday sermons
MMU Rolls Out Coordinated Friday Sermons Across J&K Amid Waqf Board Uniform-Khutba Row