'Muslims forced to take to streets to reclaim rights': Jamiat backs protest against Waqf Bill

New Delhi: The Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind on Sunday extended support to the protest called by All India Muslim Personal Law Board and other organisations against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, claiming that Muslims are being forced to come out on the streets to reclaim their rights.

Jamiat chief Maulana Arshad Madani said that in the working committee meeting of the organisation on February 12, 2025, it was decided that if the Bill is passed, all state units of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind will challenge this law in their respective state high courts.

Additionally, the Jamiat will also approach the Supreme Court with the confidence that justice will be served, as "courts remain the final recourse for us", he said.

Supporting the protest of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and other national organisations at Jantar Mantar here on March 13, Madani said that Muslims are being forced to come out on the streets to reclaim their rights.

He said that for the past 12 years, Muslims have shown great patience and tolerance.

"However, now, when the concerns of Muslims regarding Waqf properties are being disregarded, and an unconstitutional law is being forcibly imposed, there remains no other option but to protest," Madani said in a statement.

He emphasized that peaceful protest for one's religious rights is the democratic right of every citizen in the country.

The Jamiat chief further stated that since the introduction of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, "we have been making every possible effort in a democratic manner to convince the government that Waqf is a purely religious matter".

"Waqf properties are donations made by our ancestors for the welfare of the community, and therefore, we cannot tolerate any government interference in them," he said.

"Muslims cannot compromise on their Shariah at all, as this is a matter of their rights, not just their existence. The current government wants to take away the rights granted to Muslims by the country's Constitution by bringing a new Waqf Amendment Act," he alleged.

"We are going to protest to reclaim the rights and powers granted to us by the Constitution. By bringing legislations like the Waqf Amendment Bill, there is an attempt to infringe upon these very constitutional rights," he alleged.

Maulana Madani said Jamiat has made efforts to make those parties in the government, which call themselves secular and in whose success Muslims have also played a part, that what is happening is very wrong.

"However, now even the central cabinet has approved it, which clearly means that these parties have openly supported this Bill," he said.

The Jamiat president claimed that this is a betrayal of the Muslims, and playing with the country's Constitution and laws.

"These parties value their own political interests more than the secular Constitution of the country and the Muslims. Therefore, the parties that claim secularism are equally responsible for what is happening in the country today," he said.

"By assisting openly in pushing the country toward destruction and ruin, their role is far more dangerous than that of the communal forces because they are acting like friends while stabbing people in the back," Madani said.

He appealed to people to join the demonstration in large numbers to not only make it successful but also to show their awareness and commitment to the community's cause.