People stage a protest against the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025, | ANI (Representative Image)
Muslim homes and establishments countrywide have been asked to switch off lights between 9.00 and 9.15 pm on Wednesday to protest against the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board asked mosque Imams and Khatibs to announce the ‘Batti Gul’ protest. The organisation asked Muslims to switch off lights for a short period to symbolise their resistance against injustice.
Religious leaders Maulana Syed Moinuddin Ashraf; Mufti Zubair Ahmad Misbahi, Khateeb and Imam, Badi Masjid, Madanpura; Maulana Ijaz Kashmiri, vice-president, Jamiat-E-Ulema, Mumbai; Maulana Farid-ul-Zaman, Khateeb and Imam, Khatri Masjid; Maulana Muhammad Umar Nizami, general secretary, Jamiat-E-Ulema-Ahle-Sunnat, Mumbai; Alhaj Muhammad Saeed Noori; Maulana Khalilur Rahman Noori; Maulana Amanullah Reza, Khatib and Imam of Quba Mosque, Mumbai, are among those who have given a call for the protest.
They appealed to Muslims to keep the protest is protest peaceful. A spokesperson for the Jamiat-E-Ulema-E-Ahle-Sunnat said, “We want to send the message across to the government that their decision to implement the law is not acceptable to us.”
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board, a group formed to preserve Islamic laws, is part of the protest. AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi supported the protest. “I appeal to the people to participate in this protest by switching off the lights of their houses/shops so that we can send a message to PM Modi that this Act violates fundamental rights,” said Owaisi in a message to the community.
Some organisations and individuals were sceptical about the impact of a 15-minute blackout. Other Muslim organisations said they have not been told about the protest. “We have not been approached by the group that has announced it. We are not boycotting it, but if it is for the benefit of the Muslim community, we support it,” said Niaz Farouqi of the Jamaat-E-Ulema Halal Trust.
Others wondered how Muslims would implement the protest in areas where they are not in the majority. They were worried that the gesture could make easily identifiable targets in communally sensitive areas.
