The Chhattisgarh Waqf Board has told the Muttawalis (administrators) of the mosques that if any political announcement has to be made from the mosques during Friday prayers, permission from the board will have to be obtained first. The Waqf Board has taken this measure so that mosques cannot issue unnecessary fatwas. In fact, for some time now it has been seen in the state that mosques are continuously used to support political parties. Regarding this measure, a board official said on Monday that their objective is to ensure that these religious places do not become dens of politics. Obviously, this is a corrective measure by the Waqf Board, which cannot be praised enough. Because this work is like an inevitable step to maintain peace in society.
But, as is often the case, the public only understands the language of the leaders. According to the voice of the Waqf Board, the Muslim community feels that all this is happening at the behest of the ruling BJP government in the state. This is the reason why the Congress has taken a stand against the BJP government. There is a big stir over this order not only in Chhattisgarh. Chhattisgarh Waqf Board Chairman Salim Raja demanded to implement this order across the country. Obviously politics is about to get more heated. AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi has expressed extreme displeasure over this order.
1- What is the Waqf Board’s reasoning behind this order?
The Chhattisgarh Waqf Board says the purpose of this order is to ensure that these religious places do not become dens of politics. Last month, the former chairman of the board, retired judge Minhajuddin, was removed by filing a no-confidence letter against him and after this, BJP leader Dr Salim Raja was elected as the new chairman. This is the reason why this move by the Waqf Board in this BJP-ruled state is facing harsh criticism from the opposition Congress and common Muslims. However, from the arguments being given by Dr. Salim Raja, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Chhattisgarh Waqf, we are all aware of the misuse of mosques. Calling on mosque imams to deliver speeches according to the Quran and leave politics in the hands of politicians, he says that from this Friday they will have to report to the Chhattisgarh Waqf Board on the subject of their speeches. We will not allow mosques to become centers of politics. These are religious places and should remain so.
Raja says it is unfortunate that some Mutawali issue Islamic fatwas (religious orders), such as who should vote. I have seen videos in which some muttawalis use words like “rule of tyrants”. Should Muttawalis make such statements from the mosque? Don’t such statements disturb social harmony? Raja is right: he gives an example that Jammu and Kashmir has a history of misleading members of our community during stone-pelting incidents after Friday prayers. It is obvious that if this order is strictly followed the Friday riots will be stopped to some extent.
2- What is the problem of Muslim society?
Chhattisgarh Waqf Board Chairman Dr Salim Raja says after the decision, we are receiving threats and I am ready to be martyred. In this matter, I will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and demand its implementation across the country. Dr Salim Raja says about MP Asaduddin Owaisi that he does not understand Islam. In fact, after this order, there is a lot of resentment not only in the State but also among the Muslims of the country. Statements from people against this order come from all over the country. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Asaduddin Owaisi has spoken out against this order. He reacted on the social site X with his usual harsh style. Owaisi writes that now BJP people will tell us what religion is. Do we now have to ask their permission to follow our religion? The Waqf Board does not have that legal power. Even if this had happened, it would have been contrary to Article 25 of the Constitution. There is actually nothing written about Deen in this order. It is only written in this order that political speeches should not be made. That is, there should be no praise or opposition to any political party.
Responding to Owaisi, Chhattisgarh CM’s media advisor Pankaj Jha writes in X:
Firstly, the Waqf Board is not directly subordinate to any government. Most of the members of the Chhattisgarh Waqf Board have been appointed by its Congress. It is largely autonomous. There must be someone greater in religion than you who will be your leader. The board will not need to learn from you about religion and so-called honesty. Please stay where you maintain your government through vandalism. You will not be allowed to light fire in Chhattisgarh. Law and order will be maintained here at all costs. Here the Constitution is considered above any religion. Use the threat of Article 25 elsewhere. History attests that several incidents of violence have occurred due to speeches delivered from the mosque. People’s homes and bars have been destroyed. Therefore, if the chairman of the board of directors, who evidently, being a Muslim, understands the religion better than you, had considered that such a statement should be monitored, then it is a mutual matter of our State. This is a matter of law and order. This is the request not to get involved in this.
3-Congress is asking for trouble by opposing the order.
The Chhattisgarh Waqf Board chief said that they (those who speak in mosques) call this government cruel, while this government is working with the motto of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Prayas’. Salim Raja also blames Congress for this. He says Congress should not make mosques the center of vote bank politics. In fact, ever since the BJP’s influence increased not only in Chhattisgarh but across the country, Muslim politics has become Congress-centric.
The Congress has been working to incite the Muslim people and now the Congress also has the patronage of the Muslim community. Responding to Salim Raja, state Congress spokesperson Sushil Anand Shukla calls the directive unconstitutional. Shukla says he has issued this direction going beyond his jurisdiction. The job of the Waqf Board is to look after the Waqf properties and not approve the speeches given by the Muttawalis of the mosque. This is an attack on the religious freedom and freedom of expression of the Muttawalis and their followers. Shukla says Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party should answer why such an order has been issued.
In fact, the Congress oscillates between Hindu and Muslim politics to such an extent that power in Chhattisgarh has slipped out of its hands. You will remember that the Congress government of Bhupesh Baghel had formed a government in the state that looked after its Hindu interests. The government tried its best to advance the BJP’s image as a party with Hindu interests by building the state-run Kaushalya Mata temple, developing places related to Ram Van Gaman, etc., but this was not possible. Now the Chhattisgarh Congress is once again moving away from the image it has created and towards a pro-Muslim image. The Chhattisgarh case can become news for the entire country. At that point it will be difficult for Congress to respond.
