Hyderabad: A controversy has erupted over Andhra Pradesh Waqf board’s decision to consider Qadianis (Ahmadiya sect) as non-Muslims. A resolution to this effect was adopted earlier in February this year, and the incumbent Waqf board reiterated its stance over the issue recently. However, this time, it attracted a strongly-worded letter from Union minister of minorities Smriti Irani, calling the resolution a ‘hate campaign’.
Following Irani’s letter on Monday, July 24, Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, a national organisation of Muslims scholars, which traces a long history, jumped into the fray supporting the stand taken by the AP Waqf board.
In her letter, Irani insisted that the said group (Qadianis) were what they claimed to be. She further stated that ‘no law in the country gave the Waqf board any right to expel anyone from his or her Iman (belief system)’. She also clarified that no non-State actor could interfere in the government system. “I have requested the related government to take action against the Waqf Board,” she said.
On the other hand, voicing objection to the Union ministers remarks, the Jamiat stated Smriti Irani’s insistence on a different view was “unwarranted and illogical.”
In press statement issued on July 25, the Jamiat said, “Properties and places of worship belonging to a community that is not recognised as Muslim do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Waqf board. This position was established by the Andhra Pradesh Waqf board in 2009, following the representation made by Jamiat Ulama. Recently, the incumbent Waqf board reiterated the same stance.”
The Jamiat explained that contrary to the essential Islamic beliefs, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani (the founder of Qadiani group) took a position that challenges the concept of the finality of Prophethood.
“In light of this principled and factual difference, there is no basis to consider Qadianism as an Islamic sect, and all Islamic schools of thought agree that this group is non-Muslim,” it stated.
The reputed Islamic organization, World Muslim League, reached a consensus during its meeting from 6 to 10 April 1974, with representatives from one hundred and ten countries, declaring that this group was outside the fold of Islam and held hostility towards Muslims.
Furthermore, various courts have issued rulings in the past regarding the Qadianis. In 1935, the Bahawalpur, and in 1912, the sub-judge of Mungher banned them from entering Muslim mosques. Moreover, in 1974, the Supreme Court of the United Arab Emirates ordered deportation of Qadianis. In 1937, the chief justice of Mauritius declared that the Qadianis were non-Muslims. “These legal judgments reinforce the understanding within the Muslim community regarding the non-Muslim status of the Qadiani group,” the Jamiat stated.
