Omar, Mehbooba, MMU reject Waqf Board’s move for uniform Friday sermons

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has strongly opposed the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board’s reported plan to prescribe uniform Friday sermons across mosques, accusing the BJP of attempting to interfere in the religious affairs of Muslims.

Calling the move unacceptable, Omar demanded that the Board’s chairperson halt the initiative. His reaction came amid mounting opposition from the Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and other political figures, who have questioned the Board’s authority to determine sermon themes and argued that religious discourse should remain the domain of recognised Islamic scholars and institutions.

The proposed mechanism, under which sermon topics would reportedly be decided in advance and approved by a committee of preachers, has raised questions over the autonomy of religious institutions and the role of a statutory body in determining religious discourse. The MMU, headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, has rejected any attempt to regulate what is preached from mosque pulpits, while political leaders have demanded that the reported directive be withdrawn.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday hit out at the “BJP’s attempts” to interfere in the religious affairs of Muslims.

He wrote on X; “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”.

The MMU, which is the representative amalgam of leading religious and socio-religious organisations of Jammu and Kashmir, headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, has taken serious note of reports for uniform sermon by Waqf Board to be delivered in mosques on Fridays.

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”, MMU said.

“It  amounts to forcible  state intrusion into the religious sphere, which is against law and principles of freedom of religious practice”.

MMU 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 devious agenda and unnecessary controversy.

PDP chief and former chief minister, Mehbooba Mufti, reacted sharply to the development and said “The BJP cannot use Waqf Board to dictate what our Imams preach or what our Maulanas and Muftis speak about. Friday sermons must reflect people’s concerns and be guided by the Ulema through the MMU headed by Mirwaiz Moulvi Umar Farooq, not political directives. India’s diversity cannot be reduced to imposed uniformity.

“These orders raise serious concerns about religious freedom and the autonomy of Muslim institutions, particularly at a time when Muslims are being excluded from decisions concerning their own Waqf properties and mosques are facing attacks”, she said.

MP (Lok Sabha) Aga Ruhullah said “The Waqf Board’s plan to dictate Friday sermons is an assault on our faith, dressed up as coordination”. No committee should decide what our Ulema say in the house of Allah.

Former education minister, Naeem Akhtar, questioned “When will you tell us how to offer Nimaz? How to observe Roza? @BJP4India”.

Former Mayor of Srinagar, Junaid Azim Mattu, in a sharp reaction, said “If we still are a functional democracy, which I seriously doubt, the J&K Waqf Board must be constituted by the elected government of the people and not by an unelected Lt. Governor”.

“Such diktats – as the one issued by the Waqf Board about bringing uniform Friday sermons under State policy, are a result of this anarchy that the J&K Lt. Governor has patronized at a grave, long-term risk to democracy and stability in J&K. This needs to stop”.