The idea of waqf might have been launched in India in the course of the Delhi Sultanate and flourished in the course of the reign of Firoz Shah Tughlaq, however its all-encompassing powers have been handed by numerous parliaments after India’s independence. obtained by regulation.
In 2013, a yr earlier than Narendra Modi got here to energy, the UPA authorities handed the Waqf Endowment (Modification) Invoice, 2013, which granted broad powers to the Waqf Endowment Fee.
Because the Modi authorities prepares to introduce amendments to the invoice to restrict the powers of the fee, few are conscious that in comparison with Muslim nations reminiscent of Turkey, Syria, Oman, Iraq or the United Arab Emirates, India’s waqf legal guidelines have did not hold tempo with the occasions. Enter. The federal government studied legal guidelines on waqf in Muslim nations earlier than deciding to make India’s waqf boards extra centralized, fashionable and clear, sources mentioned – a transfer that had senior Muslim clerics in India backing the federal government’s thought.
The Waqf Act, 1995 confers extreme powers with respect to the applying of the Act. The definition of waqf has been expanded and the supreme authority of land survey has been vested within the waqf board. This case isn’t frequent in waqf legal guidelines in different Muslim nations.
turkey
Taking Türkiye for instance, the non secular endowment system is deeply rooted within the Ottoman Empire. In Turkey, waqfs play a significant position in social welfare, training and infrastructure. Nonetheless, the Ministry of Spiritual Endowments was abolished in 1924, shortly after the institution of the Turkish Republic in 1923. The aim of this centralization was to modernize and secularize the administration of waqf.
As we speak, the Basic Directorate oversees the administration, restoration and utilization of waqf properties. It additionally ensures that the earnings from waqfs is used for public welfare tasks. Turkey’s waqf system has undergone vital reforms to align with secular rules, whereas India’s system operates inside a framework that balances non secular and authorized issues.
Kuwait
Even in Kuwait, the place waqfs have traditionally performed an necessary position in supporting non secular, academic and social companies, the administration of waqf properties is overseen by the Ministry of Waqf and Islamic Affairs. The ministry focuses on the event and upkeep of waqf properties, together with mosques, colleges and hospitals. To make it work by 2024, additionally it is dedicated to modernizing waqf administration by digitization and growing transparency and effectivity – a far cry from India’s waqf system.
lebanon
Even Lebanon, which is at struggle with Israel over the presence of Hezbollah militants within the south, can have a extra centralized and fashionable waqf system than India.
The governance of waqf properties underwent numerous authorized reforms, notably in the course of the Ottoman Empire and the French Mandate interval. As such, it now operates beneath the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs. This physique is accountable for managing waqf properties, guaranteeing their correct use, and overseeing the distribution of waqf earnings for charitable functions. Like Kuwait, the nation is working to modernize the administration of waqf by digitization and growing transparency and effectivity.
Syria
Waqf properties in Syria are regulated by the Ministry of Waqf, which ensures the correct use of waqf properties and oversees the distribution of waqf earnings for charitable functions. Whereas Syria’s waqf administration is centralized beneath the Ministry of Waqf, India’s system is extra decentralized, with the Nationwide Waqf Board taking part in an necessary position.
Iraq
In Iraq, non secular funds are administered by the Sunni Endowments Workplace and the Shia Endowments Workplace, which have been established after the autumn of Saddam Hussein in 2003. ‘s workplace. Waqf administration in Iraq is split alongside sectarian strains (Sunni and Shia), whereas properties managed by waqf boards in India shouldn’t have such divisions.
Saudi Arabia
When you flip to the land of Mecca, the administration of waqf has additionally developed over time. In Saudi Arabia, it’s administered by the Basic Authority of Awqaf (GAA), which was established by royal decree in 2016. Saudi Arabia is extra targeted on modernizing waqf administration and integrating it into nationwide improvement, whereas India faces extra conventional challenges reminiscent of political interference and governance points.
Comparisons may be made with Center Jap nations such because the United Arab Emirates and Oman, or South Asian nations reminiscent of Singapore and Indonesia. The one try to modernize the waqf system in India was in 1984, when the suggestions of the Fee of Inquiry into Waqf have been translated into the Waqf (Modification) Act, 1984. Specifically, the structure of the Waqf Tribunal, the appointment of a number of committees and the appointment and enlargement of powers of the Waqf Commissioners. Nonetheless, robust opposition and political realities didn’t make modernization a actuality.
Now, backed by senior Muslim clerics who say India’s waqf system is “discriminatory”, Modi’s authorities has an opportunity to do what the then authorities did not do in 1984.
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