India: Muslim Scholarly, Institutional and Civil-Society Positions

Summary

Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema, MPs and an NGO ask the Supreme Court to strike down the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, while the All India Muslim Personal Law Board campaigns for its withdrawal.

What it argues

1. Act Passed, Assent Given

   Parliament passes the Waqf (Amendment) Bill after heated debate in both Houses. The Lok Sabha votes 288-232 in favour; the Rajya Sabha 128-95. President Droupadi Murmu gives her assent, bringing the Act into force. Enactment sets off the legal and public challenges that follow.

2. Jamiat's Supreme Court Challenge

   Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind calls the Act a dangerous conspiracy to strip Muslims of religious freedom. It calls the law a direct attack on the Constitution's equal rights and religious freedom. Maulana Arshad Madani seeks interim relief to stop it taking effect; state units to move high courts. The challenge frames the Act as a constitutional breach, not an administrative quarrel.

3. Denomination's Article 26 Plea

   Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema says the Act intrudes on a denomination's right to manage its own religious affairs. It argues the Act takes powers from state governments and Waqf Boards and gives them to the Centre. The plea says the effect will deprive Muslims of large tracts of Waqf property. Religious autonomy is argued alongside the Constitution's federal division of powers.

4. MPs And NGO Petitions

   Congress MP Mohammad Jawed says the Act imposes arbitrary restrictions absent from other endowments' governance. Asaduddin Owaisi says Waqfs lose protections kept by Hindu, Jain and Sikh endowments, violating Articles 14 and 15. AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan and the Association for the Protection of Civil Rights also petition. The petitioners converge on an equality claim: Muslims are treated less favourably than other religions.

5. AIMPLB's Delhi Protest

   The All India Muslim Personal Law Board stages a Save Waqf Conference at Talkatora Stadium. It alleges the law conspires to eliminate Waqf properties and end Muslim religious autonomy. AIMIM's Owaisi, RJD's Manoj Jha, Congress's Imran Masood and SP's Mohibullah Nadvi attend. The Board moves the constitutional fight onto a public platform with opposition MPs present.

6. One Crore Signatures

   The Waqf Bachao Abhiyan runs 87 days, from April 11 to July 7. It aims to collect one crore signatures and hand them to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Board warns of a bigger awareness campaign if the government does not back down. The campaign turns the legal challenge into a test of public pressure on the government.

7. Jamaat Backs Repeal

   Jamaat's council says government-appointed officials adjudicate Waqf disputes, making the state judge in its own case. It warns of encroachment and dispossession of centuries-old properties that are undocumented but historically used. It demands immediate repeal and asks civil society, intellectuals and democratic institutions to spread awareness. A second major body demands repeal outright rather than amendment.