Backlash in Kashmir over proposal for uniform Friday sermons across mosques

What the report says

A proposal by the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board to introduce uniform Friday sermons across mosques in Indian-administered Kashmir has triggered criticism from politicians and religious leaders, according to Al Jazeera. The board is led by Darakshan Andrabi, who is associated with India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Critics say the plan would give an administrative body too much influence over Muslim religious practice in a region where questions of autonomy and religious expression remain highly sensitive.

Al Jazeera reports that the board announced the move last weekend and later summoned around 1,500 scholars and preachers to discuss it, including participants from remote districts. Some attendees said they were told a pre-approved sermon prepared by senior scholars would be read in mosques on Fridays. Religious leaders objected that sermon content should be decided by scholars, not by a board seen as politically connected. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Kashmir’s top Muslim cleric, called the idea direct interference, while local politicians also argued it exceeded the board’s remit.

The controversy comes against the backdrop of major political changes in Kashmir since India removed the region’s semi-autonomous status in 2019 and placed it under more direct federal control. Al Jazeera notes that the change also altered how local waqf, or Muslim charitable endowments, are managed. Critics have long accused the authorities of tightening control over religious institutions and public worship, while the administration says restrictions are meant to preserve order.

After the backlash, Andrabi reportedly said independent scholars would decide sermon content and could address social problems such as drug abuse and mental trauma. The dispute highlights continuing tensions in Kashmir over religion, governance and the scope of local autonomy.