These messages are being circulated at a time when BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay challenged the constitutional validity of the Waqf Act. They are questioning the Act ignoring the fact that the apex court slammed the petitioner for opposing the Act only because it is related to Muslim
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – Messages filled with misinformation and Islamophobia about Waqf property and its related act is being circulated on WhatsApp to spread hate about “a particular party” and Muslim community.
“After reading this message, you may hate a particular political party and shocked to know that such act exists in our secular country. Even no Muslim country has such act, but we have,” claimed a long-written WhatsApp message with no credit.
Giving the communal angle to the Waqf property, the message gives a bizarre and unauthentic explanation. It claimed “In 1947 hindus left their land in Pakistan and came to India and Muslims left their in India n went to Pak. Pak confiscated all land of Hindus in Pak n gave that land to muslims and state govt.BUT Gandhi Nehru did opposite. They said no Hindu will touch land of muslims who went to pak. They collected all that land n gave to waqf”.
The message gave another communal example about the Waqf property to exert hate and mislead the people.
“So suppose u purchased a land from Ramesh in 2010 and Ramesh purchased that land from Salim in 1965 then waqf board can claim that in 1964 Salim gave that land to waqf n now that is their land,” goes the message.
However, the Wakf Act 1995 described the term “waqf” as “the permanent dedication by a person professing Islam, of any movable or immovable property for any purpose recognised by the Muslim law as pious, religious or charitable”.
These messages are being circulated at a time when Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ashwini Upadhyay challenged the constitutional validity of the Waqf Act in the Supreme Court. However, the apex court slammed the petitioner for opposing the Act only because it is related to Muslim.
The court said, “We express our complete shock. If you have a judicial tribunal and if a judicial member is appointed, that man will decide on the basis of religion?”
The bench asked senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for Upadhyay, “How do you bring in religion and discrimination in such matters.”
Like Upadhyay’s petition, the WhatsApp message also questioned the religion of the waqf and absence of the same system with regard to Hindus.
It went on to denounce the Congress for bringing the temple under the government fold and allowing the Waqf board autonomous. “Congress party brought temple act n captured all temples by state n said a non hindu can also become member of temple board but same congress brought waqf act, kept them autonomous n wrote no non muslim can become part of waqf board,” claimed the message in circulation.
Calling the Waqf Act “horrible”, the message asked why there is no waqf-like system for non-Muslims. It even demanded to abolish the Waqf Act.
“Waqf act is violation of article 14 of Indian constitution. Indian constitution doesn’t allow any act that is religious n encroach rights of other religions. Let’s start a movement to Abolish waqf act 1995 to save our country,” said the hate-filled message.
