The Waqf Board in Indian-administered Kashmir announced a proposal to standardize Friday sermons across the region’s mosques, triggering significant political controversy. The board is led by Darakshan Andrabi, an official associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party. This development comes in the context of broader changes to Kashmir’s governance structure following India’s removal of the region’s semi-autonomous status in 2019.
Critics, including top Muslim scholars, religious leaders, and politicians, denounced the initiative as inappropriate government interference in religious matters. A scholar from Rajouri district who participated in a virtual meeting reported that attendees were informed only pre-approved sermons drafted by a committee would be recited at mosque pulpits. When objections were raised concerning Islamic teachings compliance, these concerns were reportedly dismissed. The scholar stated fears of potential retaliation prevented him from speaking publicly under his own name.
Def ensing the proposal, Andrabi indicated that a committee of senior scholars would oversee sermon content to address social issues including drug abuse and suicide, with no government officials involved in approving the sermons themselves. She characterized the move as necessary to address regional challenges. However, following the substantial backlash, Andrabi subsequently retracted her initial statement, clarifying that sermon content would remain discretionary for independent scholars and preachers to determine.
Prominent voices opposing the measure included Nayeem Akhtar, a former education minister, who argued that religious leaders maintain inherent freedom to address topics of their choice and questioned whether a Muslim political party could dictate how Hindu or Christian clergy conduct their respective religious services. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the region’s leading Muslim religious authority, characterized such intervention as direct interference. The Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema, a coalition of religious organizations, asserted that sermon content determination remains exclusively within the purview of Islamic scholars.
This controversy reflects broader tensions regarding religious institution autonomy since constitutional changes altered Kashmir’s administrative framework. Officials have previously been accused of attempting to exert administrative control over local religious bodies, including a January incident involving police distribution of mosque profiling forms requesting sensitive information about religious personnel.
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