Syed Khalique Ahmed & Syed Ahmed Ali
NEW DELHI—Does it fall within the jurisdiction of the government to interfere in a dispute about who is a Muslim or non-Muslim? Does it amount to hate campaign if someone or a government department calls a group non-Muslim since it has been declared non-Muslim by all schools of Islamic thought, not only in India but all over the world? Could a group declared non-Muslim by all schools of Islamic thought be allowed to take custody of mosques and other Wakf properties – belonging to Sunnis and Shias? Could prayer halls and other religious properties of such a group considered to be heretic under the Islamic law be registered with Wakf Board whose mandate is to register, manage and protect properties and endowments belonging to Muslims only?
These and many other questions have arisen following a letter issued by the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA) to the Government of Andhra Pradesh on July 21 this year. The MOMA letter was issued in connection with certain actions of the united Andhra Pradesh Wakf Board as well as the new Andhra Pradesh created after partition of the old state. The wakf board in the old Andhra Pradesh issued certificates calling Qadianis/Ahmediyas as non-Muslims and resolved to de-register the mosques and other properties belonging to Qadianis. The old Andhra Pradesh Wakf Board also resolved to take over a Sunni Masjid and a Sunni graveyard near Falaknuma Railway Station in Hyderabad that were under the custody of Qadianis. Qadianis derive their sect’s name from Qadian town in Indian part of Punjab which is the native of sect founder Mirza Ghulam Ahmed.
The old AP Wakf Board had initiated the action after representation by several Muslim organisations, including Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind (JUH), that said that Qadianis had taken control of several mosques and religious properties in the united Andhra Pradesh. JUH, in its representation to the wakf board, said that since Qadianis had been declared non-Muslim by national and international Muslim organisations represented by different schools of Islamic thought, they have no right to have custody of Muslim religious places and endowments whether belonging to Shias or Sunnis. As Wakf Board is mandated to register and manage properties only Muslim in nature, JUH urged that the board should not register worship places and endowments belonging to Qadianis and it should not allow Qadianis to have custody of Muslim religious properties.
Based on these interpretations issued by JUH with regard to the position of Qadianis who claim themselves to be a Muslim sect, the undivided AP Wakf Board chairman Ilyas Sait (a retired IPS officer) in 2009 ruled that Qadianis were not Muslims. Subsequently, he ordered that properties belonging to Qadianis that were registered with the wakf board be de-registered and handed over to the endowment department of the state government since Wakf Board is not mandated to have custody of properties belonging to non-Muslims.
In February 2012, the AP Wakf Board passed a resolution transferring eight properties belonging to Qadiani/Ahmediya community in Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Mehboobnagar and Khammam districts to the state’s Endowment Department and take back the Falaknuma masjid and graveyard from the custody of Qadianis and bring it under the Wakf board management because these are Sunnis properties in the wakf record.
In the same resolution, the undivided AP wakf board also resolved to take over the possession of all other institutions which are registered as a Sunni/Shia wakf but are under the custody of the Amhediyas/Qadianis.
“Since mosques either Sunni or Shia in character cannot be in control of, and administered by non-Muslims, it is unanimously resolved to take the abovementioned Muslim wakf institutions (Falaknuma Masjid and graveyard) under direct management of (the wakf board),” the wakf board resolution further said.
The resolution further added that “in future, if any property/institution comes to the notice of the board as being in control of Ahmediyas/Qadianis, the same shall after making such inquiries as required and deemed fit, be taken under the direct management following the due process of law.”
Based on the 2012 resolution, the AP wakf board took back the Falaknuma masjid and graveyard from the custody of Qadianis. On the strength of the old resolution that declared Qadianis/Ahmediyas as non-Muslim, the Telangana wakf board some time ago took back a Sunni masjid in Vijaywada that was in custody of Qadianis/Ahmediyas.
Meanwhille, new AP wakf board chairman V Kadar Basha issued a certificate on February 3 this year, stating that Qadiani/Ahmediya community is not a Muslim sect. He based his interpretation on the 2009 guidelines issued by the JUH and the certification of the old AP Wakf Board chairman Ilyas Sait in connection with the Qadianis/Ahmediyas.
Hafiz Khaleeque Sabir Ahmed, representing Telangana unit of JUH, told India Tomorrowover phone that after his organization secured back the masjid in Vijaywada and V Kadar Basha, chairman of the newly created AP Wakf Board, issued a fresh note declaring that Qadianis/Ahmediyas non-Muslims, some Qadiani representatives approached Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Irani, complaining that AP Wakf Board, a government organization, had declared them non-Muslim and it amounted to hate campaign against them. Mrs. Irani issued a statement asking the AP Wakf board to desist from calling Qadianis non-Muslims, arguing that Wakf Board has no right to give such an opinion. Mr Sabir said that Qadianis were working in the coastal belt of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana attracting gullible Muslims into their fold by offering various enticement under the guise of being Muslims. He said no Muslim, not even the poorest and the illiterates, would go to Qadianis/Ahmediyas if the later clarify that they do not believe in finality of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him).
According to Mr. Sabir, there are two fundamental beliefs on which the entire edifice of Islam rests. First: Tawheed, affirming the oneness of Allah, which means that no one deserves worship and adulation except Allah. The Second belief is that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the final Messenger of Allah and no Messenger will come after him. Mr. Sabir says that these are the integral components of the five basic pillars of Islam. Any individual or a sect, or a group denying any of these pillars cannot be a Muslim. He says this is a settled matter and anyone challenging it will cease to be a Muslim.
Since Qadianis/Ahmediyas do not accept the finality of Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), Mr Sabir says they have been declared a heretic or non-Muslim group by all Islamic organisations in India and overseas. Since the Qadianis claim themselves as Muslims despite having been declared as non-Muslim by global Islamic organisations, Mr. Sabir said that this helps them in winning followers from among Muslims because they offer many benefits. But, with increasing awareness among Muslims now, they are countered by local Muslims. Mr Sabir says that since they are also prevented by local Muslims to name their worship/prayer places as masjid, they interpret it as hate campaign and are now complaining to state authorities at provincial and national level.
Asked why can’t Qadianis/Ahmediyas name their prayer halls as Masjid, Mr Sabir said that since Masjid is an exclusive word for prayer/worship places belonging to Muslims, non-Muslims can’t be allowed to name their worship places as masjid.
Moreover, Qadianis naming their worship places as mosques will mislead Muslims. Since Muslims are allowed to pray and offer namaz (Salat in Arabic) only behind Muslim Imams and not behind non-Muslims, their prayers would be spoiled if they pray behind a Qadiani/Ahmediya who is not considered a Muslim by the global Muslim community. Mr. Sabir says that it is because of this reason that JUH and all other Muslim organisations insist Qadianis not to name their worship places as mosques. He says his organization has no problem if they give any other name to their worship places except Masjid.
JUH national secretary Niaz Ahmed Farooqui, said that Mrs. Irani’s reaction is “unwarranted and illogical” because primary purpose of Wakf Board is to safeguard the endowments and interests of Muslims, as deemed in the Wakf Act.
Mr. Farooqui said World Muslim League in April 1974 declared Qadianis “a group outside the fold of Islam” that “holds hostility towards Muslims”.
According to Farooqui, Bahawalpur (Punjab) court in 1935 and Munger (Bihar) court in 1912 banned the entry of Qadianis in Muslim mosques. In 1974, the Supreme Court of the United Arab Emirates ordered deportation of Qadianis and in 1937, the Chief Justice of Mauritius declared that Mirzais(Qadianis) were non-Muslims.
“These legal judgements reinforce the understanding within the Muslim community regarding non-Muslim status of the Qadiani group,” said Mr. Farooqui.
Islamic experts in India say that Mirza Ghulam Ahmed, who founded the Qadiani sect, went against the general Islamic belief at the behest of India’s British rulers to create division among Muslims who formed the vanguard of the struggle for freedom of the country. Islamic scholars say that apart from disagreeing to the finality of Prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him), Mirza Ghulam Ahmed’s teachings also discouraged Muslims from fighting wars which is so vital for existence of any community or a nation. Scholars say this was intended to wean away Muslims from struggle for freedom of the country with a view to perpetuating British rule in India. It is a different thing that Britishers badly failed in their strategy but it undoubtedly led to creation of a new sect based on rejection of one of the basic pillars of Islam and that is creating tension and division in the Muslim community worldwide. According to scholars, Qadiani/Ahmediyas are now being funded by anti-Islamic agencies and groups in the West.
However, Ahmediyya Muslim Community (India) representative Ahsan Ghouri told India Tomorrow that he had no problem with private groups and organizations dubbing them heretics or non-Muslims. He said that his organization objected to when the AP Wakf Board, a state government organ, joined the private group – JUH – in calling the Qadianis/Ahmediyas as non-Muslim in a resolution in undivided AP in 2012. “It was for the first time that a government department in India called Qadianis/Ahmediyas as non-Muslim,” said Mr Ghouri, saying edicts from the government department would have negative consequences for the community. He said his community had challenged the resolution in the AP High Court in 2012 and the latter ordered suspension of the resolution passed against the community by undivided AP Wakf Board. However, according to Mr. Sabir, a final decision in the matter is still pending.
While the resolution based on certification of the JUH is still under suspension, former chairman of the newly created Andhra Pradesh Wakf Board V Kadar Basha stirred a fresh controversy. On February 3, 2023, he issued a certificate on his official letter head describing Ahmediyas/Qadianis as non-Muslims. However, AP Wakf Board currently stands dissolved, with IPS officer Shaikh Shereen Begum, heading the board in her capacity as Special Officer. Mr Basha is no longer with the AP Wakf Board.
Mr. Ghouri said that after Mr Basha’s comments as head of AP Wakf Board, his organization approached the Minority Affairs Ministry to intervene and not allow the Wakf Board to determine the religious identity of a group because the Wakf Board was not mandated to decide on it. Basha, however, could not be contacted despite several efforts.
Mrs. Shaikh Shereen Begum, when contacted, said the certification about Qadianis/Ahmediyya community was not issued by the new AP Wakf Board. The first certificate about Qadianis/Ahmediyas was issued in 2009 during the united Andhra Pradesh and the second one by Mr. Basha in his personal capacity in February 2023. Hence the government of new Andhra Pradesh, she said, had no relations with the two certifications. She candidly admitted her department received a letter from the Ministry of Minority Affairs. “We have submitted our replies to the ministry,” she said.
