Mehbooba Mufti Slams BJP’s Attempt to Regulate Friday Sermons in IIOJK
Says Local Religious Scholars, Not Government-Appointed Bodies, Should Decide Sermon Topics
Srinagar: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti has opposed the BJP-controlled Waqf Board’s proposal to introduce uniform Friday sermons across mosques in the territory, saying the move reflects the saffron party’s attempts to interfere in Muslim religious affairs.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, Mehbooba Mufti questioned the BJP government’s authority to dictate what imams should preach during Friday congregations. The IIOJK Waqf Board, headed by BJP leader Darakhshan Andrabi, is seeking to introduce a system under which topics for Friday sermons would be decided in advance.
Local Scholars Should Decide
Mehbooba questioned who would determine the content of Friday sermons, arguing that local religious scholars were better placed to understand the concerns and needs of their respective communities.
“Our imams and maulvis know what to say and when to speak,” she said, noting that mosques had largely been built through contributions from local people and that religious scholars were familiar with the issues confronting their communities.
She maintained that sermon topics should reflect local concerns and be determined by religious scholars rather than government-appointed bodies.
“Every area has its own issues. Sometimes an incident takes place in a particular locality, and the Maulvi addresses it during the Friday sermon. How can there be one uniform Khutba for everyone?” she asked.
IIOJK as BJP’s Laboratory
“Jammu and Kashmir has become a laboratory for the BJP. First, such measures are tested here and then implemented across the country,” she said, comparing the proposal with the BJP’s push for a Uniform Civil Code.
Mehbooba called for the Waqf Board to be brought under the administrative control of the occupied territory’s government. She also suggested that matters relating to Islamic religious affairs be addressed through established bodies of Islamic scholars, including the Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), headed by senior APHC leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
She also questioned the role of the Indian Ministry of Minority Affairs in matters concerning Islamic practices, arguing that administrative decisions were increasingly intruding into Muslim religious affairs.
Religious Freedom Questioned
Former Srinagar Mayor Junaid Mattu also criticised the proposal, questioning the meaning of religious freedom if the government were to determine what imams could say during Friday sermons.
“If the BJP wants to decide what our Imams say in Friday sermons, what is left in this pretense of ‘freedom of religion’? Or the Constitution??” Mattu wrote on X. He described the move as an assault on religion, culture, language and history.
Waqf Board Urged to Stay Within Its Mandate
Budgam MLA Agha Muntazir Mehdi also opposed the proposal, saying the Waqf Board’s role should remain confined to managing Waqf properties and institutions rather than dictating religious discourse.
He said religious scholars were capable of identifying issues affecting their communities and deciding what needed to be addressed during Friday sermons. He warned that prescribing common sermon topics could be used to promote a particular narrative through religious institutions.
The controversy comes after IIOJK Waqf Board chairperson Darakhshan Andrabi announced the formation of a core committee comprising so-called Muftis, imams and khateebs to identify and finalise common sermon topics for Waqf-affiliated religious institutions.
