The state BJP government is targeting the scholar for his activism in opposing the Waqf Bill, claims his attorney
Abdul Bari Masoud | Clarion India
JAIPUR – The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Rajasthan have initiated a slanderous campaign against Maulana Mohammed Fazlurrahim Mujaddidi, Rector of Madrasa Jamiatul Hidaya (Waqf) and General Secretary of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board.
BJP leaders have specifically targeted the renowned scholar in an attempt to intimidate and dissuade him from the campaign against the proposed Waqf Amendment Bill 2024.
In a clever move, the ruling party fielded its scheduled tribe leader and state Agricultural Minister Kirodi Lal Meena to attack the scholar and his institution. At a news conference on September 30 at the state BJP headquarters in Jaipur, Meena reportedly levelled multiple allegations against Maulana Mujaddidi.
Maulana Mujaddidi, at a press conference on October 3, termed the allegations as “politically motivated” and to defame and discredit the Jamiatul Hidaya.
Rebutting all the allegations point by point, Maulana Mujaddidi’s attorney Advocate MA Khan said all charges made against the scholar were unfounded and that Minister Meena was trying to incite a particular community.
Minister Meena had also claimed that Maulana Mujaddidi, his daughter Samra Sultana, and son-in-law Mohammed Shoeb are office-bearers of the Congress party and at its instance, they have been trying to disturb peace in the country. Advocate Khan said his allegations were false without any basis as they have no connection with the Congress.
On the allegation that the Madrasa Jamiatul Hidaya was established on encroached government land, he said the institution was created by the late Maulana Abdurrahim Mujaddidi. Waqf nama was registered on 11 December, 1972 in the office of Sub-Registrar Jaipur City and with Serial No. 600 dated 16 March.1974 in the Waqf Board. Maulana Mohammed Fazlurrahim is the founder mutawalli of Waqf Jamiatul Hidaya.
Maximum properties have been purchased by Maulana Fazlurrahim for Waqf Jamiatul Hidaya and the properties were registered in the Waqf Board under Section 26(37) of the Waqf Act, 1995.
Meena also accused Maulana Mujaddidi of selling the government land. On this charge, the attorney said the scholar has not sold or transferred any Waqf property. No agreement was executed by him regarding the sale of any Waqf property, he asserted.
Mohammed Fazlurrahim has also published a notice in newspapers advising the public not to purchase the property of Jamiatul Hidaya.
The advocate also highlighted that Ziyaur Rahim, Nadeem Rahim, Fahad Rahim and some other persons by executing a false agreement tried to make encroachment on the Waqf property of the madrasa. Mohammed Fazlurrahim, he said, lodged FIR No. 0376/2024, 0197/2024, 079/2024 and 275560672201099 at police station Jaisinghpurakhor in Jaipur.
Meena also alleged that Maulana Mujaddidi is in illegal possession of over 1,400 bigha of land. Dismissing the allegation as false, Advocate Khan said the scholar has purchased about 20-25 bigha land situated in Lalbag Sadwa from a khatedar whose name appears in the revenue record maintained by the state government. After the purchase of said land, the name of Jamiatul Hidaya was recorded in the revenue record by mutation entry.
Minister Meena played a video during the press conference in which he said Maulana Mujaddidi was inciting the Muslim community. His attorney called it an outright fabrication, claiming that Ziyaur Rahim, not Maulana Mujaddidi, was the one who incited the Muslims in the video. The BJP and RSS have a long history of using factual distortion to disseminate false information and disinformation, he said.
Following the RSS-BJP communal terminology, Minister Meena claimed that a “new Pakistan” has been established at Sadwa Mod (location of Jamiatul Hidaya) in Jaipur. Maulana Mujaddidi said the minister’s remark was highly irresponsible. To buttress his point, Maulana Mujaddadi referred to the recent observation of the five-judge bench of the Supreme Court which rebuked a Karnataka High Court judge for calling an area in Bengaluru as “Pakistan”. The bench said that calling any part of the Indian territory as ‘Pakistan’ is unfair and contrary to the sovereignty of the country.
Meen also said that Jamiatul Hidaya receives donations of Rs 1,000 crore annually from the Gulf and other countries.
Maulana Mujaddidi said that any institution which receives foreign donations is required to register in the FCRA cell of the Home Ministry of the Government of India. Jamiatul Hidaya and Maulana Abdur Rahim Educational Trust have FCRA registration and they have been regularly submitting annual statements to the FCRA cell. He also stated that during the last four years, no foreign donation has been received by these institutions.
The Musa Foundation was constituted but it was not activated and no foreign donation has been received to date, he said.
The minister also said the Jamiatul Hidaya sold out a Schedule Tribes land situated in Mumbai. He said it is a total fabrication as the madrasa has no connection with the properties of Schedule Tribes.
The Rajasthan agricultural minister also accused Maulana Mujaddidi of instigating Muslims to commit violence and campaigning against Prime Minister Narendra Modi referring to his meeting with opposition leaders and chief ministers on the Waqf issue.
Advocate Khan stated that Maulana Mujaddidi met with several national figures to inform them of the problematic elements of the Waqf Bill. Maulana Mujaddidi also had a meeting with BJP MP and Joint Parliamentary Committee Chairman Jagdamba Pal. Thus, it is inaccurate to say that his campaign is directed against the BJP and Modi.
Maulana Mujaddidi took a non-confrontationist stance in the face of the agricultural minister’s outrageous accusations, offering the minister an audience to clear up any misconceptions he may have had about him and Jamiatul Hidaya.