The idea that of Waqf can have been presented in India all over the Delhi Sultanate and flourished all over Firoz Shah Tughlaq’s rule, however its all-encompassing powers got here after India’s Independence thru quite a lot of regulations handed in Parliament.
It was once in 2013, only a yr ahead of Narendra Modi swept to energy, that the UPA executive — in the course of the Waqf (Modification) Act, 2013 — gave expansive powers to the Waqf Board.
With the Modi executive all set to deliver amendments to the Act to curtail the board’s powers, only a few would know that India’s Waqf regulations didn’t modernise with the days in comparison to Muslim countries like Turkey, Syria, Oman, Iraq or UAE. Assets recommend the federal government studied the regulations referring to Waqf within the Muslim countries ahead of deciding to move forward and make the forums in India extra centralised, fashionable and clear — a transfer that made India’s best Muslim clerics throw their weight in the back of the federal government’s concept.
The Waqf Act, 1995, confers over the top powers with recognize to the applicability of the Act. The Waqf definition has been enlarged and suo moto powers of the land survey had been given to the Waqf board. This type of situation does no longer be triumphant in Waqf Acts in different Muslim countries.
TURKEY
Take Turkey, as an example, the place the Waqf gadget has deep roots within the Ottoman Empire. In Turkey, the Waqfs performed a an important function in social welfare, schooling, and infrastructure. However, quickly after the status quo of the Turkish Republic in 1923, the Ministry of Waqfs was once abolished in 1924. Waqf houses have been taken over by means of the Basic Directorate of Foundations. This centralisation aimed to modernise and secularise the management of Waqfs.
As of late, the Basic Directorate oversees the control, recovery, and utilisation of Waqf houses. It additionally guarantees that Waqf revenues are used for public-welfare tasks. Turkey’s Waqf gadget underwent important reforms to align with secular ideas, while India’s gadget operates inside of a framework that balances spiritual and felony issues.
KUWAIT
Even in Kuwait, the place traditionally Waqfs have performed a vital function in supporting spiritual, tutorial, and social services and products, the management of Waqf houses is overseen by means of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs. The ministry specializes in the improvement and upkeep of Waqf houses, together with mosques, faculties, and hospitals. In an try to make it related even in 2024, it additionally works on modernising Waqf control thru digitisation and bettering transparency and potency — a a long way cry from India’s Waqf gadget.
LEBANON
Even Lebanon, which has been engaged in a warfare with Israel because of the presence of Hezbollah militants in its southern phase, can boast of a extra centralised and fashionable Waqf gadget than India.
The governance of Waqf houses has developed thru quite a lot of felony reforms, in particular all over the Ottoman duration and the French Mandate. Because of this, it now operates below the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs. This frame is liable for managing Waqf houses, making sure their correct use, and overseeing the distribution of Waqf revenues for charitable functions. Like Kuwait, efforts are being made to modernise Waqf control thru digitisation and bettering transparency and potency.
SYRIA
Waqf houses in Syria are overseen by means of the Ministry of Awqaf which guarantees the right kind use of Waqf houses in addition to overseeing the distribution of Waqf revenues for charitable functions. Syria’s Waqf management is centralised below the Ministry of Awqaf, whilst India’s gadget is extra decentralised, with state Waqf forums taking part in a vital function.
IRAQ
In Iraq, Waqf is controlled by means of the Sunni Endowment Place of business and the Shiite Endowment Place of business, established after the autumn of Saddam Hussein in 2003. They have got a centralised management with separate workplaces for Sunni and Shiite endowments. Iraq’s Waqf management is split alongside sectarian traces (Sunni and Shiite), while India’s Waqf Forums set up houses with out the sort of department.
SAUDI ARABIA
If you happen to flip to the land of Mecca, the Waqf control has additionally developed with time. In Saudi Arabia, it’s controlled by means of the Basic Authority for Awqaf (GAA), established by means of Royal Decree in 2016. The GAA is a public frame with monetary and administrative independence however connected immediately to the high minister. Saudi Arabia targeted extra on modernising Waqf control and integrating it into nationwide building, while India faces extra conventional demanding situations like political interference and governance problems.
The comparisons can move on with Center Japanese countries just like the United Arab Emirates and Oman or South Asian countries like Singapore and Indonesia. The one try to modernise India’s Waqf gadget was once made in 1984 when the suggestions of the Waqf Inquiry Committee have been was the Waqf (Modification) Act, 1984. It supplied for the reconstitution of Waqf Forums with elaborate further powers, the charter of Waqf Tribunals, the appointment of a number of committees and appointments in addition to enlarged powers of the Waqf commissioners amongst others. Then again, stiff opposition and political realities didn’t let the modernisation develop into a fact.
Now, with the backing of best Muslim clerics who’ve known as India’s Waqf gadget “discriminatory”, the Narendra Modi executive has an opportunity to do what the then executive failed in 1984.
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