The Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024, having received Parliament’s approval, many Muslim leaders appealed to the community to embrace the law while asking the government for clarity on the selection of members to the Waqf boards and how the fees collected from trusts will be spent.
Shuaib Khatib, trustee of Mumbai’s Juma Masjid, stated that there is no clarity on how the 22 members in the central Waqf board and 11 members in the state Waqf boards, including non-Muslim members, will be selected. “During the debate in Parliament, no member questioned the government about this. “If the Waqf boards are for the benefit of Muslims, as the government claims, the members should not be political nominees as they exist now. The government should get educated and young Muslims selected on the board, not orthodox religious leaders. A selection body should be formed to create the boards,” Khatib said.
There are also questions about how the 5% fees that trusts pay will be used. The bills had planned to increase the fees from 2% of the surplus income to 7% before reducing it to 5%. “What services will the trusts get in return?
The government said that the bill provides for the auditing and digitising of Waqt records to bring more transparency to the work. Pyare Khan, chairman of the Maharashtra Minority Commission, reacted to the passing of the bill, saying that previous governments have ignored Muslims. “If they had thought about it, the condition of Muslims in this country would not have been like this. Now, if the government is going to give the rights to the poor Muslims, then we should welcome it and not oppose it,” Khan told the media.
However, Muslim clerics who gathered at the Sunni Badi Masjid, Madanpura, after Friday prayers, said that the government was lying. “We have read the bill. The government will be forced to repeal the bill. “Muslims have rejected the bill. We will oppose it in the Supreme Court,” said Maulana Mufti Zubair Barkati.
“The parties that we voted for have stabbed us in the back. We will teach them a lesson,” said Muhammad Saeed Noori, president of Raza Academy.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board said they will hold nationwide protests and legal action against the Waqf Amendment Bill 202. The organisation said that the law, brought in the name of compassion for Muslims, will be destructive for Waqf properties. The AIMPLB said the government ignored them and other national organisations, the opposition parties, and the civil society. The organisation added that they have begun the consultation process regarding the preparation of legal action against the law.
The All India Sunni Jamiatul Ulema has written to the President, Droupadi Murmu, for a meeting to discuss apprehensions about the law. “The Muslim community has expressed strong reservations about the bill, citing concerns about the potential erosion of their autonomy and the possible misuse of Waqf properties. As the President of India, your office plays a vital role in safeguarding the rights and interests of all citizens, including those from minority communities,” said Sayed Moinuddin Ashraf (Moin Miyan), in the letter.
