India’s Parliament Passes Controversial Waqf Bill Amid Muslim Concerns

India’s lower house of parliament has approved a bill proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu  government to amend laws governing Muslim endowments (waqfs) valued at over $14 billion, sparking significant concerns among the Muslim community, Al Jazeera reports.

The waqf bill aims to introduce non-Muslims to boards managing these endowments and grant the government a greater role in validating their land holdings. Waqf refers to personal property, both movable and immovable, permanently donated by Muslims for religious or charitable purposes.

Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) asserts that the proposed changes to the 1995 waqf law will combat corruption and mismanagement while promoting diversity within the endowment system.

However, many Muslims fear the move will make waqf properties – including historic mosques, shops, shrines, graveyards, and vast tracts of land – more susceptible to confiscations, disputes, and demolitions.

A heated debate ensued in the lower house on Wednesday, with the Congress-led opposition denouncing the bill as unconstitutional and discriminatory towards Muslims. Despite the opposition, the BJP, with the support of its allies, successfully passed the bill early Thursday, with 288 members voting in favor and 232 against.

The bill is currently under debate in the parliament’s upper house. If passed there, it will be submitted to President Droupadi Murmu for her approval before becoming law.

A key point of contention revolves around changes to the waqf bill’s ownership rules. These revisions could impact hundreds of mosques, shrines, and graveyards, many of which lack formal documentation due to donations made without legal records decades, or even centuries, ago.

Many Indian Muslims express concerns that the Hindu nationalist government will gain increased control over Muslim properties, particularly amid rising instances of attacks targeting Muslims, ranging from issues concerning food and clothing to interreligious marriages.