Waqf Bill won’t benefit Muslims, says senior AIMPLB official

Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahli and other Muslim religious leaders view the moon of Eid from Aishbagh Eidgah for the festival of Eid in Lucknow on March 30, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has expressed strong opposition to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, stating that it would be detrimental rather than beneficial for Muslims.

“The AIMPLB and other Muslim organisations have conveyed their concerns over the Bill to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), but they were not considered. Following this, protests were held in cities, including Delhi and Patna, where demonstrators symbolically wore black bands to emphasise their dissent,” senior executive member AIMPLB Maulana Khalid Rashi Farangi Mahali told PTI on Wednesday (April 2, 2025).

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“It would be detrimental rather than beneficial for Muslims,” he said.

“Muslim leaders have asserted that Waqf properties hold religious significance comparable to fundamental Islamic practices such as prayer, fasting and pilgrimage,” he said.

“We have urged all Members of Parliament to consider the sentiments of the Muslim community and reject the proposed amendments,” he said.

However, some legal experts have welcomed the provisions in the Bill.

In Varanasi, lawyer Vishnu Shankar Jain said the Bill has curtailed several “unchecked” powers previously held by Waqf boards, which is a positive step. He pointed out that certain aspects of the Bill still needed debate, though. “There is no provision to take back the property of any other religion or trust which is not government property but has been declared as Waqf property. We have registered our protest against this,” he said.

These statements come as the Bill is set to be tabled in the Parliament on Wednesday (April 2, 2025).

Despite setting up a JPC in the matter, no bipartisan consensus has emerged between the ruling National Democratic Alliance and opposition parties, which have dubbed it as “unconstitutional” and against the interest of the Muslim community.