Kargil/ Dec. 19/ Major religious organisations in Kargil and Leh district opposed establishment of Waqf Boards in Ladakh. The statement of the organisations came as a reaction to Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi who announced establishment of Waqf Boards in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

The major religious organisations in Ladakh, namely Islamia School Kargil (ISK), Anjuman Sahib Zaman (ASZ) Sankoo, Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust (IKMT) from Kargil and Anjuman Imamia from Leh opposed the establishment of Shia Waqf board in the newly formed Union Territory.

In case of establishing Waqf Board, the organisations fear for political interference in religious affairs and the criticalities in the Islamic Sharia that thwart possession of Shia religious sites by any authorities or organisation.

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Speaking to the Voice of Ladakh, Sheikh Nazir ul Mehdi Mohammadi – President ISK said that “Shia sites have various criticalities that could manage only according to the Shia Fiqh. As an instance, an amount that belongs to Mosque or Hussaniyah cannot be used in each other interchangeably or for any other purpose… In case of forceful establishment of Waqf Board, we will strictly oppose and stand firmly against this move.”

President of Anjuman Imamia Leh, Mr Ashraf Barcha said, “the decision to establish Waqf Board is not a well-thought decision as there are no major waqf property in Ladakh that could generate income. In absence of any such income, how the government would pay to the members in Waqf Board and the managing members of the Auqafs.”

Barcha expressed his deep concern over potential political interference in the religious sites because of establishing Waqf Board. The Chairman of the proposed Waqf Board would become a political post for which the appointment would be politically motivated. The local community would again polarise to get appointed on this very post, said Barcha.

Vice-Chairman for political affairs, Anjuman Sahib Zaman Sanoo, Aga Syed Ahmad Rizvi said that he had severely condemned the establishment of Waqf Board during his Friday sermon in Kusar, Sankoo. “It was due to the religious criticalities that Late Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, had exempted Shia sites from Waqf Board during its establishment. The Shia sites shall govern and manage only by the infallible Imam; in the absence or occultation of the Imam the Jamia-us-Sharait shall govern them. Any other authority or person that use these sites are illegal and unislamic”, said Syed Ahmad. After consulting with other religious organisations, Syed Ahmad is planning to jointly fight against this move.

Chairman, Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust Sheikh Sadiq Rajai, said that a Shia Auqaf can use only for the purpose for which it is allotted by the donor. He further said that at this moment, not only IKMT but no other Shia organisation in J&K and Ladakh is ready to embrace establishment of Waqf Board. If Waqf Board is established, then there is need to study the Waqf Act and to check whether it is compatible with the Shariat or not.

Aga Syed Mohammad Shah, President Anjuman Noorbakshia Kargil declined to say “yes” or “no” to the move as he had not read the Waqf Board Act in depth and the picture of proposed Waqf Board was not clear to him. It is pertinent to mention that a Shia cleric from Uttar Pradesh, Moulana Qalbe Jawad in a meeting with the Lieutenant Governor Jammu and Kashmir had advocated the establishment of Shia Waqf Board in J&K and Ladakh, said a media report. In a sharp contrast to Moulana Qalbe Jawad, a prominent organisation called Shia Federation Jammu accused the Molana for interfering in the affairs of Shia community of J&K. The organisation urged the Molana to focus on the plight of Shia community in his home State Uttar Pradesh instead of unnecessarily indulging in their affairs.