Waqf Board Says No Uniform Friday Sermons in J&K, Preachers Will Decide Topics
The Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board chairperson, Darakhshan Andrabi, on Tuesday clarified that there is no order to introduce uniform Friday sermons in mosques across the Union Territory. She said such decisions would be taken by religious preachers and scholars, not politicians.
Her statement came two days after she proposed forming a core committee of preachers to pre-decide topics for Friday sermons. An Executive Magistrate at the Board, Ishtiyaq Mohi-ud-Din, had informed preachers that “only one topic will be highlighted” in the sermons. The proposal triggered a public outcry and criticism from several regional parties.
Ms. Andrabi said the idea was to “forcefully and unitedly raise voice over social issues like drugs, late marriages, waywardness and the recent cases of damaging of orchards.” She added that in a meeting on Sunday, religious scholars and preachers had suggested collectively fighting social evils. “There is no order to have uniform sermons. Ulemas and khateebs will decide the topics for Friday sermons through a board. It’s them and not politicians who get to decide on such matters,” she said.
The clarification followed sharp reactions from Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Kashmir’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti. They had opposed what they described as an attempt to interfere in the religious affairs of Muslims.
Mr. Abdullah said the move was an “unacceptable attempt by the BJP to interfere in the religious affairs of Muslims” and demanded that the chairperson immediately halt the effort.
Mr. Farooq, who also heads the Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema, a pan-Jammu and Kashmir conglomerate of religious bodies, said, “Even the suggestion that a statutory body could determine or regulate what is to be preached from the pulpit is ridiculous, and will never be accepted by the Muslims of J&K.” He said it amounted to “forcible State intrusion into the religious sphere, which is against law and principles of freedom of religious practice.” He added that the Waqf Board should remain within its administrative responsibility of managing, maintaining and protecting Waqf properties.
Ms. Mufti called the Board’s move “totally unacceptable.” She said Friday sermons are shaped by local issues and circumstances while also addressing wider social and national concerns. “Imposing a uniform template on these sermons disregards the diversity of local realities,” she said.
She further said the BJP cannot use Waqf institutions to interfere in religious affairs or prescribe what should be preached. “Our religious preachers know well about the subjects to be talked about. It’s them who spread and protected Islam in J&K. A Board run by the BJP and the Minority ministry headed by a non-Muslim cannot decide what should be in a sermon,” she said.
Ms. Mufti alleged that it was a bid to push the BJP’s agenda along the lines of the Uniform Civil Code in Jammu and Kashmir. She said mosques in the region are built through local donations and are not the personal property of the Board. She demanded that the Waqf Board be handed over to the elected government and that Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, as head of the MMU, should decide on sermons.
Former Srinagar Mayor Junaid Azim Mattu said the J&K Waqf Board must be constituted by the elected government and not by an unelected Lieutenant Governor. He opposed the imposition of unelected boards and institutions on the people.
The episode highlights the ongoing sensitivity around religious administration in Jammu and Kashmir, where political and religious leaders continue to debate the boundaries between State authority and religious freedom. The Board has maintained that its focus is on addressing social issues, while its critics insist that sermon content must remain with preachers.
