Tahaffuz-e-Auqaf, a noun phrase of Arabic language words means protection of waqf properties. Indian Parliament has passed Waqf Act and amended the same several times. Recently BJP Government has decided to amend the Waqf Act 1995, which is being severely criticized as an attempt by the Central Government to manipulate the waqf properties in India arbitrarily.
For this very reason, Muslim leadership, Islamic scholars and secular parties and personalities have opposed the proposed amendments to the Waqf Act by the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024. Faqihul Hind, Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, the president of All India Personal Law Board is making his best efforts through various means such as motivating the public to express their opinion and holding and getting hold Tahaffuz-e-Auqaf conferences in various parts of the country. One mega Tahaffuz-e-Auqaf Conference is going to be held in the financial capital of India, Mumbai on 5th October, 2024.
Why Tahaffuz-e-Auqaf movement and struggles are necessary? The Waqf Amendment Act, 2024 tabled by the ruling party to amend the Waqf Act, 1995 is a conspiracy to make waqf unsafe instead to protect the same. There are several reasons. Some of them are as under:
(1) In this amendment, waqf through use has been proposed to be amended. It is provided in Waqf Act, 1995 that if a property has been used for a long time as a mosque, shrine, madrasa or a graveyard and it is for religious and charity objectives, it shall be regarded to be a waqf property. Now, removal of waqf through use shall mean that the mosque, madrasa, shrine or graveyard that are being used for centuries and if it is not recorded in the revenue records as such, the state officers can illegally encroach over it and communal claims over mosques and other waqf properties shall proliferate. The fact is that this very principle is applicable for Hindu religious sites and the sites and the buildings that are being used for religious purposes for a long time are considered having this very legal status.
(2) Inclusion of the non-Muslim representatives in the Central Waqf Council has been suggested and the number of the Muslim members has extensively been reduced. Earlier, only one non-Muslim could be appointed as the member of the Central Waqf Council, but it can be 13 and inclusion of 2 non-Muslim members is mandatory. In the past, only one non-Muslim could be Chairman of the State Waqf Board, whereas all other members would be Muslims and they would be elected. Now, seven members of the Board can be non-Muslim and two members to be non-Muslim is necessary. Moreover, the members shall not be elected by the Waqf Board but by the state government. Tahaffuz-e-Auqaf movement is necessary also because:
(3) There was the condition that the Chief Executive Officer of the Waqf Board shall be a Muslim. Now, this restriction has been removed and the State Government can appoint a non-Muslim as a Chief Executive Officer as well and even the recommendations of the Waqf Board shall not be required for this post.
We can see from the aforesaid some amendments to be made in the Waqf Amendment Act, 2024 that Tahaffuz-e-Auqaf movement is necessary to protect our waqf properties by every possible means we can utilize. (Hamid Siddiqui)
FAQIHUL HIND, MAULAAN KHALID SAIFULLAH RAHMANI
Nayyar Miya
K. RAHMAN KHAN AS AN EDUCATIONIST
Kamal Farooqui and Bharat Mata Ki Jai
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