The All India Milli Council convened a virtual consultation with journalists to address growing concerns around the contentious Waqf Act 2025. Prominent media personnel, legal experts, and community leaders joined the discussion to strategize a unified response to the Waqf legislation.
Maulana Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi, General Secretary of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, underscored the need for media solidarity in opposing the Waqf Act, praising the Milli Council’s initiative.
In his presidential address, Maulana Yaseen Ali Usmani, Vice President of the All India Milli Council, stated, “a well-organized movement against the Waqf Act has begun, and our efforts will continue.” He accused the government of fostering division within the Muslim community and vowed to sustain a coordinated resistance.
Shams Tabrez Qasmi, Media Secretary of the All India Milli Council, in his opening speech, stressed the meeting’s goal to connect journalists, inform them about the significance of the issue, and provide all necessary support so that the movement against the Waqf Act can gain strong media backing.” He further added that the meeting aims to present various aspects of the Waqf Act 2025 to the media and provide satisfactory answers to the doubts and concerns arising from the legislation.
Supreme Court Senior Advocate M.R. Shamshad debunked claims that legal challenges to the Act were superficial, clarifying that petitions were meticulously prepared post the bill’s enactment.
Iftikhar Gilani, senior journalist joining from Turkiye refuted the assertions made in the Indian Parliament that Turkey does not have a Waqf Board. He confirmed that Turkiye has a robust mechanism for managing Waqf properties.
Senior journalist Bhasha Singh urged simplified, fact-driven storytelling to combat misinformation and amplify grassroots voices.
Journalists from leading media outlets, including Ghafran Sajid Qasmi (Basseerat Online), Ashraf Bastavi (Asia Times), Huma Naz (Insaaf Times), Sadaf Kamran (Hindustani Media), Ruba Ansari (Millat Times), Aho Emal (Azad Reporter), Sufiyan Saif (Mewat Times), Mohammad Ahmad (Watan Samachar), and Javed Rahmani (Editor, Roznama Saiban), participated in the virtual meeting. They raised critiques of the Waqf Act’s implications and received pointed legal response from the legal experts on constitutional validity concerns.
The meeting resolved that misleading narratives and propaganda about waqf will be countered through scientific, legal, and journalistic means, and both the Milli Council and the Muslim Personal Law Board will fully support this effort.Shams Tabrez Qasmi announced that, under the direction of the Board’s General Secretary, more online and offline consultative meetings will be held, jointly organized by the Media Department of All India Milli Council, Media Wing of the Muslim Personal Law Board, and the Cogito Media Foundation.
Saifur Rahman, media joint secretary, said that the scope of these meetings will be expanded nationwide to strengthen the campaign through a robust network of journalists.
Maulana Suleman Khan, Assistant General Secretary, thanked the journalists and said, “We are grateful to those journalists who report the truth and support the community.”
The meeting concluded with a dua by Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman Mujaddidi, with a large number of community leaders, journalists, and activists present, including Mohammad Alam, General Secretary of IOS, Mufti Umar Abideen Qasmi, senior journalist Diyashankar Mishra, researcher Ansar Imran, Shakeel Ahmad (Founder of MX News), Sohail Akhtar Qasmi (Journalist working with international media), Asad Ashraf (journalist), Abubakar (Journalist, Daily Salar), and many others.
