The Fear Factor: India’s Hindu Lawmakers Debate Regulating Muslim Endowments

Indian lawmakers on Wednesday began debating a controversial bill that aims to change the administration of billions of dollars’ worth of endowments donated by Indian Muslims over centuries, the BBC reported.

The Waqf bill, made up of dozens of amendments to a 1995 law regulating the administration of endowments, is being pushed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is up for debate in the lower house of parliament.

A waqf is a traditional Islamic charitable foundation to which a donor gives property, often but not always real estate, for religious or charitable purposes. These gifts can’t be sold or used for other purposes, meaning that waqf properties belong to God.

In India, waqfs oversee 872,000 properties spanning one million acres, valued at about $14 billion. Some endowments date back centuries and are used as mosques, seminaries, graveyards, and orphanages.

The bill, the government says, will introduce transparency into how the endowments are managed. They say a change is necessary because the current opaque system allows for corruption.

However, critics argue that the law will undermine the constitutional rights of Indian Muslims and could become a pretext to confiscate historic mosques and other property from India’s largest religious minority.

Critics also say the bill gives the government enormous power to regulate the management of the endowments and to decide if and when a property qualifies as a waqf.

Waqf properties are currently managed by semi-official boards staffed by Muslims, similar to bodies that administer other religious charities. The new bill requires two non-Muslims to be appointed to the boards, a requirement opposed by critics: They note that most non-Muslim religious institutions do not allow followers of other faiths in their administration, the Associated Press explained.

The bill would also require waqf boards to receive approval from a district-level officer to confirm the waqf claim of property. Opponents fear this would undermine the board and lead to Muslims being stripped of their land.

Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) does not have a majority in the legislature but could depend on allies to pass the bill. Still, opposition parties and Muslim groups say the bill is discriminatory, politically motivated, and an attempt by Modi’s BJP to attack the minority’s constitutional rights.

Many Muslims acknowledge issues such as corruption and mismanagement in the overseeing of the endowments. However, they fear it is just one more attempt to strip the minority group of rights and wealth, especially considering the rising attacks on minorities, with Muslims increasingly targeted for their food, clothing, and for interfaith marriages.

According to a 2013 government survey, Muslims, who make up 14 percent of India’s 1.4 billion population, are the largest, but also the poorest minority group in the Hindu-majority country.