Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the term Pakistan uses for the territory India administers, is at the centre of a row over a plan to bring uniform Friday sermons to mosques across the region. The Waqf Board, a government-appointed body that oversees Muslim religious endowments, announced the move last weekend. Religious leaders and politicians have since criticised it sharply, and the board chairperson has said that scholars remain free to choose their own sermon topics.
Political and religious objections
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called the proposal “unacceptable” on Tuesday and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of interfering in Muslim religious affairs. In a post on X, he urged the board’s chairperson to withdraw it. The board, critics note, is under the control of the ruling BJP rather than the elected local government.
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti asked who would decide what imams should preach, and said the board should come under the administrative control of the Jammu and Kashmir government. The Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), a grouping of religious organisations headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, said sermon content is the responsibility of Islamic scholars, not an administrative body, and asked the board to focus on protecting Waqf properties. Former Srinagar mayor Junaid Mattu questioned what remains of religious freedom if the BJP decides what imams say on Fridays.
The region’s top Muslim scholars described the proposal as “irresponsible interference in the religious affairs of Kashmiri Muslims.” Kashmir is a disputed region claimed by India and Pakistan, and it has been at the centre of political turmoil for four decades, since peaceful demands for a referendum turned into an armed uprising in 1989.
Board says committee, not compulsion
Darakhshan Andrabi, the board chairperson, announced a core committee of muftis, imams and khateebs (preachers) to identify and finalise common sermon topics for affiliated institutions. She has denied that the board issued any order making these themes compulsory. Defending the uniform Friday sermons idea, she told an Indian newspaper that the committee would be solely responsible for choosing the issue, and that it was needed to tackle social evils, including drug abuse. She also said religious scholars would approve Friday sermons with no role for government officials.
A scholar from Rajouri district, about 180 km from Srinagar, attended the meeting online and gave a different account to the media. He said Andrabi had instructed that only a pre-approved sermon, drafted by a committee of senior scholars, would be read from mosque pulpits on Fridays. He said he and others objected that they would not follow directives that violated Islamic teachings, but their concerns were brushed aside. Speaking on condition of anonymity because he feared reprisals, he quoted Andrabi as saying the decision was final after four years in the making. The sources therefore disagree on whether the sermons would be compulsory, and the board’s denial stands against his account.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Kashmir mein Friday ke khutbe ek jaisay karne ki tajveez Waqf Board ne di hai, jis par Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti aur religious scholars ne sakht aitraz kiya hai. Board ki chairperson kehti hain ke khutbe lazmi nahi hain, lekin aik scholar ke mutabiq pre-approved khutba parhna hoga. Abhi yeh sirf ek tajveez hai aur is par ikhtilaf jaari hai. Masjid ke khutbe kaun tay kare, is sawal ne mazhabi azadi ki bahas chhed di hai.
