An Imam sandwiched between political rivals

SRINAGAR: Kamal ud din Farooqi, , a retired professor and chief scientist at Kashmir’s Sher-i-Kashmir University of Agriculture University Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), who would lead the prayers at Srinagar’s revered lakeside Hazratbal shrine for past many years, is a sad man today.

Following his presiding over a public conversion of a Hindu man to Islam at Hazratbal more than three months ago, Dr. Farooqi was divested of the “big responsibility” which he would discharge with “a deep sense of dedication, sincerity and my profound love for Islam and its Messenger, peace be upon him” at a place which holds immense importance not only for the Valley’s majority Muslim community, but is revered by its minorities including Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs, as well.

The most prominent feature of Hazratbal shrine built of pure white marble is that it houses a relic of the hair of Prophet Muhammad, known as Moi-e-Muqaddas.

Removing him as the Imam and Khateeb (preacher) at Hazratbal over what the police later termed as “coerced religious conversion” has affected his physical, emotional and mental health. He pleads innocence and insists that he is not responsible for any “forcible” conversion if it really was so.

Yet he is unwavering and pledges “I will never give in to falsehood.” He also calls his removal by the Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board, a statutory body that manages the affairs of major shrines and mosques across the Union Territory as per provisions of Waqf Act 1995 and is currently headed by a BJP leader, as “arbitrary, unfair, and unethical” and a step that goes against the established norms.

On Jumu'atul-Wida (April 5) Sadeep Kumar, a resident of Haryana working as a domestic help in Srinagar, converted to Islam after Farooqi made him to recite ‘Shahada’ (Declaration of Faith), the first of the five pillars of Islam in front of tens of thousands of Muslims who had gathered at the Hazratbal shrine to offer congregational prayers on the last Friday in the fasting month of Ramadan.

Later the J&K police lodged an FIR against his employer Anayat Muntazir, alleging that he forced his domestic help to convert to Islam. A video that went viral shows Kumar being asked by Farooqi if he was accepting Islam consciously and as per his own wish or under a threat, intimidation or greed to which he replies, “No by my own sweet will”. After his reciting Kalima Shahada (the testimony declaring belief in the oneness (tawhid) of God and the acceptance of Muhammad as His messenger), the cleric informs him that his Islamic name would be Muhammad Abdullah which he accepts.

However, the police had said that the dissemination of this video stirred unrest among the public and raised concerns about religious harmony and tolerance. “The incident has also evoked strong reactions beyond the borders of J&K, potentially fuelling sectarianism and communal discord,” the police had said, adding that “Further investigation revealed that Sandeep was allegedly mentally manipulated by the owner of the house, Anayat Muntazir, a resident of Nowhatta, who employed Sandeep as a domestic worker at his home in Srinagar….Anayat reportedly took Sandeep to the Hazratbal shrine, where he allegedly coerced him into reciting the Kalima during congregational prayers to convert his religion.”

The police invoked Indian Penal Code’s section 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant), 298 (Uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings), 153 (giving provocation with intent to cause riot), and 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) against in the case.

Soon the Waqf Board served a notice on Farooqi, informing him that he had presided over a meeting of questionable conversion which created confusion and chaos among the general public, hence his continuing as the Imam at the Hazratbal shrine was “not proper”.

Farooq denies he forced Kumar to convert to Islam. “At the congregation of more than two lakh Muslims, he and his employer stood up to say that he (Kumar) wants to convert to Islam. In my capacity as Imam, I asked him whether he was converting to Islam under pressure, coercion, threat, or any kind of fear. In response, he announced that he was doing so out of his ‘own free will and consent.’ After this, how could I refuse to make him recite Kalima Shahada ?”

Farooqi while questioning the board’s move says, “I am not an employee of the Waqf Board. I was chosen by the people as the Imam of the Hazratbal shrine after the death of my brother Bashir ud Din Farooqi for our family has been performing the duties of Imam-o-Khateeb at Hazratbal for the past 350 years. It is they alone who have the ultimate authority in choosing an Imam to lead them in prayers”. He added, “The Waqf Board’s job is to look after the places of worship and allied properties and to provide better facilities to those visiting these. It has no mandate to interfere with personal faith and religious practices.”

Local watchers say that Farooqi is being made the scapegoat in the attempts of the rivals to have a complete control on the rostrum of the Hazratbal shrine which has been deeply intermeshed with Kashmir's politics. In the past, the leadership of Kashmir’s oldest political party National Conference (NC) including legendary Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah and his progeny have successfully used the shrine to make political gains.

However, their political bête noire Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, after being voted to power in 2002, made every effort to dislodge the Abdullahs from Hazratbal and other shrines and places of Muslim worship in the Valley which the Valley’s majority community has a very deep sentimental attachment with. It what was described by many as a well-planned coup, the Mufti-led PDP and Congress coalition government took over the management of about 90 Muslims shrines and dismantled the Muslim Auquaf Trust headed by former chief minister Farooq Abdullah in September 2003 “top prevent further swindling of funds collected as public donations”. Subsequently, the Trust with assets exceeding ₹ 2,000 crores was formally brought under government control and transformed into the Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Waqf Board (JKMWB).

However, Dr. Adfer Shah, a New Delhi-based sociologist and social and political analyst, says that the Auquaf affairs seem to be far from being driven by right concerns. “Post-abrogation of Article 370, like many other institutions, Waqf also witnessed a serious uncertainty, sort of an existential crisis that it still is in. The waqf institution already drenched in a plethora of issues fell into an endless chaos,” he said in an article written a couple of years ago.

But BJP leader Dr. Darakshan Andrabi claims that since she took over as the chairperson of the Waqf Board more than two years ago it has witnessed “historic transformation” and is now in a position to invest on the infrastructure development and other varied utility development projects at the Muslim shrines in J&K. She recently claimed that the board has utilized abandoned properties, ensured timely rent collection and transparent donation system throughout J&K which has strengthened the organization. It is working tirelessly to improve the working and create more facilities for the people, she added.

Knocking them out of administrative positions has, however, failed to completely remove the influence of the NC leadership on the Hazratbal shrine. Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah prefer to offer prayers on Fridays and other special occasions at Hazratbal to maintain their connection with the people through it and apparently to foil the attempts at dislodging them from the rostrum completely.

Ms. Andrabi has accused Farooqi of trying to “sabotage” what she has achieved all these years including making the Hazratbal shrine a place where from a message of love, affection and brotherhood shines forth by presiding over a questionable conversion “at the behest of your aaqas (masters)”, an obvious reference to the NC and its leadership. She believes it was a deliberate attempt to set off communal tensions. Her aides point out that Mr. Muntazir is a NC activist which points to the “deep-rooted conspiracy”.

Farooqi strongly denied the conversion was preplanned. He said, “My aaqa is Allah and his last Messenger. I don’t take any dictates from anyone.” He said that the FIR registered at Srinagar’s Nigeen Police Station in the case does not mention his name but Ms. Andrabi is trying to pressurise the authorities to “implicate me”. He said, “I will resist all attempts to belittle or intimidate me”.