SRINAGAR: The Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), an amalgam of Muslim religious organisations of J&K led by Hurriyat leader and cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and comprising J&K’s Grand Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, opposition PDP chief and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and other politicians have opposed J&K Waqf Board’s plan for uniform Friday sermons across all mosques and shrines in the UT.
“Even the suggestion that a statutory body could determine or regulate what is to be preached from the pulpit (Mimbar) of the mosque and shrine is ridiculous and will never be accepted by the Muslims of Jammu and Kashmir,” MMU said in a statement.
The MMU was reaction to J&K Waqf Board’s decision to constitute a core committee of Muftis, Imams and Khateebs to identify and finalise common topics to be delivered during weekly Friday congregational prayers.
J&K Waqf Board is headed by senior BJP leader Dr Darakshan Andrabi.
According to the Waqf Board, the proposed uniform Friday sermons will focus on religious awareness, moral values, social harmony, unity and other matters of public and community interest in accordance with Islamic teachings.
The MMU while rejecting the proposed move by Waqf Board said, “the Mimbar (pulpit) is an Amanah (trust) and religious guidance is the domain of Ulema, Imams and recognised religious institutions, rooted in Islamic scholarship and traditions of the different schools of thought. 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.”
According to MMU, there is an important distinction between Ulema and religious organisations voluntarily coming together to address common religious or social concerns of the society and decide on the approach to address them and a state-linked administrative body seeking to prescribe themes or directions for sermons
It has 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.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said 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, he said, must immediately halt this misplaced attempt “to please her masters.”
The opposition PDP chief and former CM Mehbooba Mufti called it interference in the religious practices of Muslims.
Questioning the rationale behind such directives, she said it was unacceptable that a minister who does not even belong to the Muslim faith could decide what Muslim Maulanas and Muftis should speak about in their sermons.
“Friday sermons are primarily shaped by the issues and circumstances confronting a particular region or locality, while also addressing wider social and national concerns. Imposing a uniform template on these sermons,” she said, disregards the diversity of local realities and the role of religious scholars in guiding their communities.
Alleging that Kashmir was being treated as a laboratory to test the limits of Muslim tolerance, Mehbooba warned that such measures could eventually be extended to other parts of the country.
She asserted that BJP cannot use Waqf institutions to interfere in religious affairs or prescribe what should be preached from the pulpit.
“The administration of Waqf affairs should be handed over to an elected government rather than being used as an instrument to regulate religious expression,” she said adding if any discussion on uniformity in sermons was considered necessary, the matter should be decided by recognised Islamic scholars and religious bodies themselves.
She said the responsibility for taking such decisions should rest with the Ulema, not the BJP’s political establishment acting through Waqf authorities.
Ruling NC spokesman Imran Dar in a post on X said, “Now @BJP4India will DRAFT Friday sermons for mosques across Kashmir (sic)”.
“They will decide what issues our preachers will talk about, what color they will give them and what issues are brushed under the carpet. The content will be theirs, the wording will be theirs and the intent will be theirs,” he said.
“I am not a fundamentalist but the Muslim that I am refuses to gilp this down. I am sure our religious leaders including @MirwaizKashmir oppose this with tooth and nail,” Imran said.
Former Srinagar Mayor Junaid Mattu in a post on X questioned the implications of the move for religious freedom.
“If the BJP wants to decide what our Imams say in Friday sermons, what is left in this pretense of ‘freedom of religion’??? Or the Constitution?? (sic)” Mattu said.
“This is a page out of a Margaret Atwood novel. An assault on our religion, culture, language and history - one step at a time!” he added.
