The Central government has intervened on behalf of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and asked the Andhra Pradesh government to look into the complaint made by the sect against the state Waqf board’s recent resolution calling its members “kafirs” (non-believers) and “non-Muslims”.
In a letter to the Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary KS Jawahar Reddy, the Ministry of Minority Affairs said the Waqf Board’s resolution against the Ahmadiyya community is a “hate campaign” which could have “ramifications across the country,” according to media reports.
“A representation dated July 20 has been received from the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, vide which it has been stated that certain Waqf Boards have been opposing the Ahmadiyya Community and passing illegal resolutions declaring the community to be outside the fold of Islam,” a report by Indian Express said quoting the Ministry’s letter to Andhra government seeking intervention in the matter.
The letter was in response to a representation made by the Ahmadiyya community on Thursday against the resolution passed by the Andhra Pradesh waqf board. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat India, in its representation, reportedly said the Waqf board’s resolution was a “clear violation of our rights” and a “grave violation of the Waqf Act and Indian law and constitutes a hate campaign against us.’’
“This constitutes a hate campaign against the Ahmadiyya community at large and the Waqf Board neither has the jurisdiction nor authority to determine religious identity of any community including Ahmadiyyas,” the letter said.
The Andhra Pradesh State Waqf Board had passed a resolution in 2012 declaring the sub-sect of Sunni Muslims, the Ahmadiyyas, as non-Muslim. Since then, the resolution has been challenged in the Andhra Pradesh High Court which ordered its interim suspension.
Despite High Court’s order, Andhra Pradesh Waqf Board issued another similar proclamation in February this year under the signature of its Chairman stating that “In consequence to the Fatwa of Jamiat Ulema, Andhra Pradesh dated May 26th, 2009, the `Quadiani community’ is proclaimed as `kafir’ and not a Muslim,” the IE report said.
The Waqf Board passed another resolution in February this year stating that “In consequence to the Fatwa of Jamiat Ulema, Andhra Pradesh dated May 26th, 2009, the `Quadiani community’ is proclaimed as `kafir’ and not a Muslim.”
The Ahmadiyyas sect which emerged as an Islamic revivalist movement in Punjab in the 19th century, are also called ‘Quadianis’ as a slur.
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