However, numerous Muslim organisations denounced the Waqf Amendment Bill calling it an infringement of their religious freedom. “The AIMPLB and other Muslim organisation have conveyed their concerns over the Bill to the JPC but they were not considered,” said Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali, a senior executive member of AIMPLB and chairman Islamic Centre of India. Maulana Fazlul Manna, cleric of famous Tilewali Masjid in Lucknow, said the waqf was owned by Allah. “No one else can own the Waqf properties. Now the future course of action would be decided by All India Muslim Personal Law Board.”Similarly, in Bareilly, while Ittehad-e-Millat Council chief Maulana Tauqeer Raza claimed that the Bill would not be accepted by the Muslims at any cost, Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi, chairman, All India Muslim Jamat came out in support of the Bill saying it would be in the favour of Muslims if passed by the Parliament. In Saharanpur, Maulana Mahmood Madni, chairman, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind dubbed the Bill as anti-constitutional. He said it was brought by Modi government following its “majoritarian approach” against the democratic values.On the other, in Varanasi, Supreme Court advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain welcomed the bill saying it would curtail several ‘unchecked’ powers previously held by Waqf Boards. Former chief of UP Minority Commission, Ashfaq Saifi said that he was getting life threats for supporting the Bill. “I am being intimidated through social media and Whatsapp calls. My brother-in-law Zahid Saifi, who lives in Gunnaur in Sambhal, was attacked by unidentified persons,” said Saifi.At the same time, Sumaiyya Rana, daughter of late poet Munnawar Rana, was house arrested as a preventive measure in Lucknow.
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