Rehan Qayoom Mir
Srinagar, Oct 13: Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board Chairperson Dr Syed Darakhshan Andrabi on Tuesday clarified that the Board has issued no order making uniform Friday sermons mandatory in its affiliated mosques, saying religious scholars and preachers are free to decide the issues they wish to address.
Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, Darakhshan Andrabi, as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said neither she nor any Waqf Board official could dictate the subjects of Friday sermons, asserting that the decision rests with independent religious scholars, preachers and sermon-givers.
“Even Darakhshan Andrabi cannot take any decision, nor can my officer take any decision. It is the decision of the independent scholars, our preachers, our sermonists, that we should try to remove the vices in society,” she said.
She said the initiative was intended to draw attention to pressing social issues, particularly those affecting the younger generation, including drug abuse, family concerns, suicide and mental trauma.
“If we want to talk about drugs today, then we will talk about drugs. If we want to talk about daughters, if there is no marriage, then we will talk about it. If children are committing suicide, then why are they doing it? Why is there trauma in our society? Everyone has decided,” Andrabi said.
Stressing that the Board had issued no directive for mandatory common sermons, she said, “There is no order. There is no order anywhere.”
Andrabi also clarified that the proposed core committee would comprise religious scholars and that she would not be part of it. “Who will form the core committee? Religious leaders,” she said, adding that she was not a religious teacher and that scholars would independently decide the subjects and manner of their sermons.
“Whatever our religious scholars want, they will do it in their own way. There is no interference in that,” she said.
The Waqf chief said religious scholars associated with the Board could play an important role in addressing social evils, drawing a comparison with professionals such as doctors, engineers and teachers working in their respective fields.
She said the Board’s objective was to address social problems and urged political leaders to focus on issues affecting people on the ground rather than oppose efforts aimed at tackling social evils.
Responding to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s remarks alleging BJP interference in Muslim religious affairs, Andrabi questioned where such interference had taken place and defended the Board’s functioning during her tenure. “Where did BJP interfere? If I am the leader of BJP, I am proud. I feel very proud today that I am from BJP,” she said.
The clarification comes amid a controversy over proposal to introduce common themes for Friday sermons across Waqf-affiliated mosques and religious institutions. The move has drawn opposition from political and religious leaders, including Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti and the Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), among others.—(KNO)
