SC order on Waqf law hasn't addressed broader religious, constitutional concerns, say J&K's Muslim organisations

The Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), an amalgam of Muslim religious organisations in Jammu and Kashmir said the SC order has left the Muslim community anxious and dissatisfied.

In this photo from March 7, 2025, Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq delivers his speech on the first Friday of the month of Ramadan at Jamia Masjid in Srinagar. FILE Photo | ANI

SRINAGAR: The Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), an amalgam of Muslim religious organisations in Jammu and Kashmir, on Tuesday said the Supreme Court's interim order on Waqf Amendment Act has not addressed the broader constitutional and religious concerns raised by this legislation.

The Supreme Court on Monday put on hold some key provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, including a clause that only those practising Islam for the last five years could create a waqf, but refused to stay the entire law outlining the presumption of constitutionality in its favour.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq-led MMU said in a statement that the interim order of the Supreme Court on the Waqf (Amendment) Act, while staying certain provisions, has not addressed the wider constitutional and religious concerns raised by this legislation, leaving the community anxious and dissatisfied.

The MMU said that the waqf is not merely about property but about religious trust and "service to Allah."

"Any attempt to dilute Muslim control over these sacred endowments or to erode their historic protection is unacceptable to the community and is against the principles enshrined in the Constitution, which grants every religious denomination the right to manage its own religious affairs," it said.

"The court has provided a partial interim relief, which is a good indication, but they do not go far enough," the MMU said.

Many provisions of the Act remain a cause of grave concern, it said, adding the abolition of the long-recognised principle of 'Waqf by user' threatens centuries-old mosques, shrines, graveyards and community institutions that have functioned as waqf based on continuous use, even without deeds.

The mandatory requirement of a waqf deed disregards historical realities where documents were lost or never existed and risks stripping these properties of their sacred status, it said.

The transfer of survey powers from independent commissioners to district collectors compromises neutrality and gives the state excessive control over religious trusts, the religious amalgam said.