Syed Sadatullah Husaini, President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), has strongly condemned the passage of the Waqf Amendment Act 2025 in Parliament, calling it a dark chapter for minority rights in the country. He was addressing a monthly press conference held at the Jamaat’s headquarters.
The JIH President said: “The passage of this Act is highly condemnable and marks a dark chapter for minority rights in our nation. It is a direct assault on religious freedom and constitutional rights in the country. The Act introduces sweeping changes to the Waqf Act 1995, drastically increasing government interference in managing Waqf properties. The Act violates Articles 14, 25, 26, and 29 of the Constitution and paves the way for unjust state interference in the religious affairs of the Muslim community. We express deep concern over the misleading arguments presented by treasury members during the parliamentary debate. Waqf Boards are not equivalent to the Charity Commissioner, as falsely claimed in the Lok Sabha. Several states have exclusive legislations for Hindu and Sikh endowments, ensuring that regulatory and supervisory authorities belong exclusively to the respective religious communities. The government has repeatedly cited mismanagement, legal disputes, and misappropriation of Waqf properties as reasons for this amendment. However, the Act contains no concrete measures to address these issues. Instead, adding non-Muslim members and shifting control to government-designated officers will do nothing to solve the problem. In fact, undue political and bureaucratic interference has historically been the primary source of corruption and mismanagement in Waqf affairs. Jamaat believes that provisions such as altering ‘Waqf by User’ and imposing restrictive conditions on new Waqfs is a deliberate attempt to weaken Muslim institutions.”
Pointing out how narrowly the Waqf Bill was passed in Parliament Syed Sadatullah Husaini said, “The partisan nature of the Act can be seen by the fact that it could garner only 288 votes in favour in the Lok Sabha while 232 MPs voted against it. In the Rajya Sabha, it received 128 Ayes and 95 Noes. One should also note that the ruling party with the largest number of lawmakers has zero Muslim MPs in the Lok Sabha and did not have a single elected Muslim MP to speak in favour of the Act in the waqf debate. This shows how little support this Act has received from the Muslim community in the country. We thank all parliamentarians and political parties which opposed the Act. We hope they will continue to extend their full support to the nationwide protests against the Act and pursue all legal, constitutional, and democratic means to overturn this unjust and unconstitutional law. As for the political parties that claim to uphold secularism yet support this unconstitutional law, we feel that their hypocrisy is the worst example of political opportunism and deception. They are bound to pay a heavy price for this short-term political expediency and may not taste power again in their respective constituencies.”
Commenting on the situation in Gaza, the JIH President stated, “We vehemently condemn the intensified Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, particularly in Rafah. The strikes hit tents in designated “safe zones” killing unarmed civilians including women and children. Israel repeatedly and deliberately targeted civilians during the predawn suhoor time of Islam’s holiest month of Ramadan. They bombed a Gaza City school sheltering displaced families. All this demonstrates the utter contempt by Israel for international law, human rights, and human life. The UN has reported severe shortages of food, water, and medical supplies, with famine looming in northern Gaza. With more than 50,000 and 7% of Gaza’s population dead or wounded since October 2023, this systematic annihilation of Palestinians is pure genocide for which the Israeli regime must be held accountable. However, the West, led by America, continues to shield Israel from accountability, exposing its hypocrisy in championing human rights while enabling war crimes. The Palestinian struggle is a fight for survival, dignity, and freedom; epitomizing the unbreakable will of a people demanding liberation against settler-colonial violence. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind welcomes the Indian Foreign Ministry’s expression of concern over civilian killings in Gaza and appreciates the pro-Palestine statements by some political leaders. However, we urge the government to take concrete and decisive action to halt the unprovoked Israeli violence and ensure enforcement of the ceasefire once again.”
JIH presidents Malik Moatasim Khan and Prof. Mohamaad Salami Engineer also spoke to the media persons.
Issued by: Salman Ahmad, National Assistant Secretary, Media Dept. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind.
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