BENGALURU 21 NOV

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Thursday expressed strong Opposition to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha, calling it a direct attack on the autonomy and integrity of Muslim Waqf properties.

Even as the Union government justified the bill as a measure to improve transparency and curb encroachment, the AIMPLB raised concerns that the amendments would lead to encroachment of mosques, cemeteries and other religious sites.

Speaking at a conference organised at the Press Club on Thursday, AIMPLB General Secretary Maulana Mohammed Fazlurrahim Mujaddidi said, "By handing key decisions to government-appointed collectors, the bill effectively ensures bias in disputes involving wakf lands."

Demanding withdrawal of the bill, the board vowed to use all democratic means to oppose its implementation.

The controversy over Wakf Board erupted after several BJP ministers accused the Karnataka Wakf Board of conspiring to take over 1,500 acres of land in villages. They said the board issued notices to hundreds of farmers, seeking their eviction from lands they had been cultivating for centuries and had all documents of ownership.

The board on Thursday also announced that its 29th session would be organised at Darul Uloom Sabeel-ur-Rashad in the city on 23 and 24 November. It said that on the occasion, a grand public meeting titled Protection of Shariat and Awqaf will also be held at Eidgah Quddus Sahab.

This meeting will be addressed by the office bearers of the board, prominent personalities of the community and leaders from various schools of thoughts. -Salar News