Aligarh Muslim University teachers express concern over the Waqf Bill

Aligarh Muslim University Campus
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Aligarh Muslim University Teachers’ Association on Sunday (September 22, 2024) hosted its first public meeting on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in which over a hundred members of teaching and non-teaching staff participated. The event underscored concerns regarding the possible homogenisation of the waqf system, which could lead to the “erosion of local and cultural variations”.

Prof. Aftab Alam, former secretary of AMUTA, said there was a mismatch between the stated objectives of the Bill and the proposed legislation. “At a time when there is a trust deficit between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Muslim community, the BJP-led government should first focus on confidence building rather than creating further mistrust,” Prof. Alam told The Hindu.

Questioning the definition of the Bill, the seasoned political scientist said he was not aware if a government office had issued a certificate determining whether a person was a practising Muslim for five years. “The clause that only a Muslim of five years can make an endowment raises suspicion over the Bill’s intent,” Prof. Alam said.

Saud Alam Qasmi, Professor of Sunni Theology at AMU, who was recently invited by the Joint Parliamentary Committee formed to deliberate on the contentious Bill as an expert of Islamic jurisprudence, said in the present form of the Bill, “The very purpose of the waqf will be lost.” Prof. Qasmi said the most contentious point in the Bill “was the omission of waqf by user clause” from the 1995 legislation which empowered the owners of waqf properties that don’t have land ownership papers with their power of ownership.

He said empowering the District Magistrate to identify waqf properties created further suspicion in the community’s mind because the District Magistrate was the voice of the State government. “The community had not forgotten how a District Magistrate refused to take action when Hindu idols mysteriously appeared in the mosque in Ayodhya in 1949,” Prof. Qasmi said.

He also questioned the purpose of removing the word ‘Muslim’ as a qualification to be a member of the Waqf Board. “There is no contention over two non-Muslim members or the faith of the legislative members as sometimes their expertise is required to arrive at a decision but removing the word Muslim altogether puts a question mark on the intention as there is no such provision in the bodies related to Hindu religious endowments,” Prof. Qasmi said.

He said it was commonly known that waqf properties were being misused by corrupt trustees but underlined there were provisions in the existing law to punish them. “The corrupt have been getting patronage from successive governments. The present dispensation should set an example by acting against those misusing a pious practice for personal gains,” he said.

Emphasising that the community was all for the representation of backward Muslims and women in the Waqf Boards, he appealed to the government to negotiate with the community.

Obaid Siddiqui, honorary secretary of AMUTA, said the meeting concluded with a call for continued dialogue and scholarly engagement. “We have sought an appointment with the JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee) chief to discuss the Bill,” Dr. Siddiqui said.