J&K Waqf board chief denies reports about pushing for uniform Friday sermons

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board Chairperson, Darakhshan Andrabi, on Tuesday refuted allegations that the Waqf Board has pushed for uniform Friday sermons throughout the Union Territory.

Tagging a newspaper report with his post on social media platform X, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had said, "This is an unacceptable attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to interfere in the religious affairs of Muslims and will not be accepted under any circumstances."

“The BJP-appointed Chairperson must immediately halt this misplaced attempt to please her masters."

:Reacting sharply to these reports/allegations, Darakhshan Andrabi said that the Board has issued no order making uniform Friday sermons mandatory in its affiliated mosques, adding that the religious scholars and preachers are free to decide the issues they wish to address.

Addressing a press conference here, the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board Chairperson added that 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.

"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 vices in society," she said.

She added that 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.

Stressing that the Board had issued no directive for mandatory common sermons, she said, "There is no order. There is no order anywhere."

She 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," Darakhshan Andrabi 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.

The clarification follows 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.

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