The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has asked for people to wear black bands on their right arm in a mark of protest against the Waqf amendments while offering prayers in a peaceful manner. This is to be a silent protest that expresses sadness and anger.
Today is the last Friday of the month of Ramadan.
The injunction comes with police restrictions in Sambhal and Agra that no namaz will be offered in public spaces or even on rooftops.
The state’s Director General of Police, Prashant Kumar, has said that there will be heavy deployment of police at all sensitive places. This is not only for the Alvida Namaz but also for Eid and then for Navratri which starts on March 30. Drone cameras will be deployed to keep a watch on large gatherings. Prohibitions on loudspeakers will continue as per rules in place.
On the AIMPLB account on ‘X’ is the hashtag IndiaAgainstWaqfBill.
AIMPLB president Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani took to social media to appeal that the hashtag be used repeatedly. He has also requested that people upload their photos with the caption: This Jumma Tul Wida Let Us Protest.
AIMPLB had earlier announced a nationwide agitation against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, with large sit-ins planned in front of the state assemblies in Patna and Vijayawada on March 26 and 29, respectively, as part of the first phase of the protest. Also, major rallies are set to be held in Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Malerkotla (Punjab) and Ranchi, the AIMPLB had said in a statement, which comes after Parliament's joint committee submitted its report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. There is speculation that it could be brought for passage in Parliament during the ongoing Budget Session.
Other posts on social media caution that if the bill is passed, Muslims in the country will have to face immense difficulties. All community and religious organisations like dargahs, mosques, madrasas and orphanages will be impacted.
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While the trend is growing on social media, some from within the community are also questioning why Muslims are in this state of affairs. One view is that had the board used Waqf money for education, health and social development, the status of the community would be completely different today and things would not have come to such a pass.
An earlier post on the AIMPLB account reads: We endured mob lynching. We bore the bulldozers. We stayed patient through Love Jihad slanders and CAA-NRC. But now, they dare to attack our Iman and religion! Our fight is not against any community but against this tyrannical government and its anti-constitutional Waqf bill. If passed we will launch a nationwide campaign.
The post also calls for politicians like Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar to make their stand clear and not take the support of the community for granted.