“The BJP seeks to draw political mileage by bringing one divisive issue after another. After the Ram temple, they have found new divisive issues like Kashi Vishwanath temple vs. Gyanvapi mosque and Srikrishna Janmabhoomi temple vs. Idgah at Mathura,” he said. “Just as the farmers had got the three laws repealed by sacrificing their lives, similarly now Muslims will come on the streets and fight for their rights constitutionally,” he added.
He stated that it is critical to understand Waqf. It is for the benefit of the Muslim community that the government has constitutionally granted Muslims the right to Waqf. “Right now the Muslims are silent. A significant portion of our property is owned by the state and federal governments. They (the administration) are concerned that if Muslims begin to demand their rights, things will change,” he said.
“Ever since the Modi government has come to power, it has been bringing bills only to target Muslims. There is no talk about inflation and employment. The Hindus who have voted for the BJP will also have to think about what this government has done for us,” he maintained.
Meanwhile, Prominent Shia cleric Maulana Yasoob Abbas welcomed the amendments and said that changes in the law would introduce transparency and accountability in the management of Waqf properties, besides ending corruption and adding to the income of such properties.
Threats issued to the government, and Hindus by Maulana Rashidi in the past
It is important to note that this is not the first time that Maulana Sajid Rashidi has issued threats of violence and massive protests against the Hindus and the government in the country. He has a history of insulting the Hindu religion and targeting the government on various occasions.
In the year 2022, Rashidi issued threats to the government that India would burn if the government dared to touch the private madrasas. The threats were issued after the Uttarakhand government had decided to modernize the madrasas in the state.
“Every state has a madrassa board that comes under the government. The government can order dress codes, play movies or songs, and do whatever they want in those Madarssas, and no one can stop them. However, we will not allow you to do anything in our private Madarsas, hear this out. Because Indian Muslims retain 4% of children from private madrasas to become maulvis and maulanas if they attempt to intervene in that 4% of madrasas, all the Indian Muslims will oppose it. We will not allow them to do this,’ Rashidi was quoted as saying.
“We never accept anything from the government. We do not need anything from anyone… Do whatever you want in the government-run Madrassas. But don’t touch the private Madarsas; otherwise, India will be on fire,” Rashidi threatened.
He also had asked the Muslim community members to welcome the government authorities with slippers and shoes. This is when the Uttar Pradesh government had decided to survey the 7500 unrecognized Madarsas in the year 2022. Rashidi appealed to the madrasa authorities to welcome the state surveying authorities with slippers, and shoes and bash them with the 2009 law related to madrasas.
In August 2020, Rashidi was booked for inciting Muslims to demolish the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. A day after the Ram Mandir bhoomi pujan, Rashidi had made an attempt to spread communal hatred and incite violence by targeting the government. He had said that a Mosque would be rebuilt by demolishing the Ram Temple that was yet to be built in Ayodhya.
In 2022, he had reiterated his claim saying that a Mosque would be built by demolishing the Ram temple in Ayodhya. He had said that Muslims would come to power after 100 years and rebuild the Mosque at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya. “Muslims are silent today. But m My children… my son, his son, his grandson….but after 50-100 years they will learn from history that our mosque was destroyed and turned into a temple. A Muslim judge, Muslim ruler, or Muslim government may come to power at that time. Nothing can be said about whether there will be changes… So, based on that history, won’t a mosque be constructed by destroying this temple? It definitely will be,” he was quoted as saying.
Maulana Rashidi insulted Hindu religion
He has also insulted the Hindu religion at times.
In 2023, the Hinduphobic maulana was booked after he remarked that the Islamic tyrant Mahmud of Ghazni did not destroy Somnath Temple due to his hatred towards infidels (Kafirs) but to stop the alleged ‘wrongdoings’ that were taking place inside the temple. The complaint was filed by filed by Somnath Temple Trust General Manager Vijaysinh Chavda.
“This is true that there has been a Mughal era and Mughal rulers were there for 800 years, however, they had nothing to do with religion. If you read history you will find that there are many such examples like Mahmud of Ghazni. It is wrongly said that he demolished the Somnath Temple. In fact, Ghaznavi was informed by the locals what was actually happening there in the name of faith. What was being done in the name of Devi-Devtas? How the young girls were going missing there,” Rashidi had opined.
The controversial Maulana further said, “Ghaznavi then had the inspection conducted there. He went and invaded the Somnath temple after learning that the claims made by people were indeed true. Instead of destroying the Somnath temple, he only put an end to the wrongdoings that were taking place in the temple.”
It was not my intention to hurt anyone. I read historian Romila Thapar & accordingly made remarks. I apologize to the Somnath Trustees as my intention was not to hurt anyone. Muslims ruled for 800 years and they donated land for temples and beautified them: Maulana Sajid Rashidi pic.twitter.com/SZJ1BA6jU6
— ANI (@ANI) February 10, 2023
Following the FIR, Maulana Rashidi had issued a half-hearted apology to Somnath Trust saying it was not his intention to hurt anyone. He also stated that his claims were based on Romila Thapar’s writings.
In February 2023, Rashidi blatantly claimed that Shri Ram was a descendant of Hazrat Adam. He claimed that the first human Hazrat Adam was a Muslim and that he was a messenger of God. According to him, the first human worshipped Allah and all the gods and goddesses including Shri Ram were the descendants of this so-called Hazrat Adam.
In 2022, he justified the mockery of Shivling in the Gyanvapi case and claimed that Hinduism was no religion. He also criticized the Supreme Court for allowing a videography survey in the Gyanvapi case and delivering an allegedly biased judgment in the Ayodhya case. He said that the Court did not deliver the judgment on the facts, it used the special powers and gave away the land to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra.
He also added that the Gyanvapi Masjid has been in existence since the rule of Mughal Emperor Akbar and was not built by Aurangzeb by demolishing a temple. “No temple was demolished. There is no Shivling there. The structure discovered is part of an old fountain and not a Shivling”, he had claimed.
Further justifying the mockery of Shivling, Maulana Rashidi claimed that Hindus had themselves attracted the mockery. “Calling Fountain a Shivling is in itself a big joke. Why won’t people make fun of it? They (Hindus) should understand that every dome-shaped structure cannot be a Shivling”, he had said blatantly reiterating that Hinduism was never a religion.
Amendments to the Waqf Act approved by the Cabinet
There are currently 30 Waqf boards in the country, spread among 28 states and union territories. The Waqf Amendment Bill seeks to curtail the Waqf Board’s powers. Key considerations include limiting Waqf Boards’ ability to declare and govern any property as a ‘waqf asset’.
All property claims made by Waqf Boards will need to be verified. The bill also proposes changes to the composition of Waqf Boards, including reorganizing both the Central Waqf Council and state Waqf boards. This decision is viewed as a key step toward limiting the board’s authority over property claims and addressing issues such as land encroachment and misuse of powers granted by present legislation.
The major amendments include restructuring Waqf boards, changing their composition, and ensuring land verification before declaring it as Waqf property.
The bill proposes changing Sections 9 and 14 of the Waqf Act to adjust the membership of the Central Waqf Council and state Waqf boards so that women are represented. It also demands a new verification of contested land claimed by state Waqf bodies.
The Bill is anticipated to be submitted in Parliament shortly. If passed, it will dramatically change the governance and regulation of Waqf properties in India, matching with traditions in other Islamic countries where such broad powers are not concentrated in a single institution.
A preliminary analysis of laws in Islamic nations such as Oman and Saudi Arabia indicated that these countries do not delegate such broad powers to a single institution. Several representations from Muslim academics, women, and sects such as Shia and Bohras emphasized the necessity for reforms to the current law. notably, the process to make changes to the law had begun way before the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.
