Waqf Act 2025: Why It Matters and the World’s Reaction

Part I(Int): Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025

Introduction

The Waqf Act 2025 (Amendment) , signed into law by the President of Bharat on April 5, 2025, has thrust Bharat’s management of Islamic charitable endowments into an unwarranted heated spotlight, reigniting debates over governance, religious autonomy, and property rights. Historically, waqf regulation began under British colonial rule, driven by the need to protect land revenue from tax-exempt waqf claims, curb funding for anti-British activities and ensure administrative clarity amid legal disputes. Post-independence, the Waqf Act of 1954 was introduced, largely as a political gesture to appease Muslim communities, signaling inclusion in a newly secular state. Today, with properties spanning 9.4 lakh acres, the 2025 amendments—promising transparency through digitization and inclusivity via non-Muslim board members—have polarized Bharat and drawn global scrutiny. As I explore why this legislation resonates, I’ll unpack the explosive growth of waqf properties over recent decades and how international media, including Al Jazeera and Deutsche Welle, have responded.

Why the Waqf Act 2025 Matters

Rooted in Islamic tradition, a waqf is an endowment of property for charitable or religious purposes, managed by state Waqf Boards in Bharat. With lakhs of properties spanning lakhs of acres of land, waqf holdings rank third in land ownership after the Railways and Armed Forces. The 2025 amendments, officially the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development Act, introduce digitization, non-Muslim board members, and stricter land validation processes. The government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, frames it as a fix for corruption and encroachments. Critics, including Muslim leaders, argue it’s a power grab threatening religious rights, igniting protests and legal challenges.

This matters because the law’s provision, allowing Waqf Boards to claim properties by merely “thinking” they are waqf as per earlier laws, also debars plaintiffs from seeking legal relief, even at the Supreme Court level. It’s a flashpoint for Bharat’s 200 million Muslims—the world’s third-largest Muslim community yet classified as a minority with rights often far exceed those of the majority—testing secular governance and signaling how the state navigates minority affairs in a Hindu-majority nation. It is a test of the principle of Muslim appeasement in Bharat’s polity, which claims to be secular, while also testing how far it will go to appease Muslims for votes.

This matters because, as seen in Punjab’s mismanaged waqf assets, the system’s flaws demand scrutiny: historic mosques like Khairuddin Jama Masjid and Jama Masjid Khalifa Raza-E-Musafa, valued at ₹50–100 crore each, generate a mere ₹5–15 lakh annually, with 60–70% of revenue siphoned by litigation and 56.5% of properties entangled in encroachments due to board inaction and outdated leases. Members of the board serve selfish motives, millions of poor Muslims live on margins surviving on the lowest category of labour in the society, deprived of waqf’s intended charity. This squandered potential justifies calls for reform but also arms critics who fear state intervention masks ulterior motives.
Notably, the 2025 amendment introduces the right to appeal Waqf Board decisions in civil courts, offering legal recourse that was earlier blocked—marking a shift toward procedural fairness for all citizens.
The global echo amplifies its stakes, as international observers scrutinize Bharat’s approach to religious equity and governance under a microscope..

Growth of Waqf Properties: A Surge in Recent Decades

Building on the importance of the Waqf Act, it’s essential to understand the rapid growth of waqf properties in recent decades.

Waqf properties have ballooned over the last two and three decades, fueled by the 1995 and 2013 amendments. The 2006 Sachar Committee pegged waqf at 4.9 lakh properties worth ₹6,000 crore, generating just ₹163 crore annually due to mismanagement. By 2025, official figures show 8.72 lakh properties spanning 9.4 lakh acres, valued at ₹1.2 lakh crore (US$14.22 billion), reflecting a 20-fold value increase since 2006. At the Sachar Committee’s 2.7% return rate, these properties should be earning ₹3,240 crore annually (2.7% of ₹1.2 lakh crore), but estimates based on recent data, including parliamentary discussions, suggest they generate only around ₹1,200 crore, highlighting persistent inefficiencies despite the 2025 amendments’ focus on transparency. This surge in properties largely stems from the Waqf Boards’ unchecked power under the 1995 and 2013 laws, which allow claims on private or government land based solely on their subjective “thinking” of waqf status, overriding rightful ownership and fueling disputes.

This expansion underscores waqf’s vitality but also its controversies—encroachments and mismanagement paved the way for 2025’s reforms.

Potential Benefits of the Waqf Act 2025

The Waqf (Amendment) Act of 2025 has been met with criticism, but it’s essential to acknowledge its potential benefits. By introducing digitization, non-Muslim board members, and stricter land validation processes, the Act aims to bring transparency and accountability to the management of waqf properties.

Increased Transparency

1. Digitization of records: The Act’s emphasis on digitizing waqf records can help reduce disputes and encroachments by making information more accessible and transparent.
2. Improved accountability: With clearer records and more transparent processes, waqf boards can be held accountable for their actions, reducing the risk of mismanagement and corruption.

Enhanced Governance

1. Inclusion of non-Muslim members: The inclusion of non-Muslim members on waqf boards can bring diverse perspectives and expertise, potentially improving decision-making and governance.
2. Stricter land validation: The Act’s stricter land validation processes can help prevent unauthorized claims and ensure that waqf properties are managed in accordance with the law.

Potential Impact

1. Better management of waqf properties: By introducing transparency and accountability measures, the Act can help ensure that waqf properties are managed more effectively, generating more revenue and benefits for the community.
2. Increased trust: The Act’s emphasis on transparency and accountability can help build trust among stakeholders, including the Muslim community, the government, and the general public.

While the Waqf Act’s potential benefits are significant, its success will depend on effective implementation and ongoing evaluation. By acknowledging both the criticisms and potential benefits, we can work towards a more nuanced understanding of this complex issue.

World Media’s Reaction on Waqf Act 2025

A Diverse Global Lens

International media have dissected the amendments, blending regional lenses with universal themes. Al Jazeera’s March 25, 2025, report, “Government Encroachment of Bharat’s Waqf Lands: A Madhya Pradesh Example,” flagged pre-amendment state overreach, later framing the law as a tool for Hindu-majority control, appealing to its Muslim audience.

The BBC (April 4, 2025) detailed the parliamentary slugfest, noting opposition cries of unconstitutionality against the government’s transparency pitch, casting it as a minority rights saga in Bharat’s nationalist turn.

Turkey’s Anadolu Agency (April 6, 2025) zeroed in on non-Muslim board members, questioning Islamic fidelity while nodding to Turkey’s own waqf reforms, suggesting a modernization debate with risks.

The New York Times (April 7, 2025) weighed it as a secular democracy test, praising anti-corruption intent but warning of alienation, linking it to global property disputes.

The Guardian (April 5, 2025) slammed it as Modi’s minority-control pattern, citing Al Jazeera’s Madhya Pradesh case as evidence of encroachment, not reform.

Deutsche Welle’s (German-based) April 11, 2025, analysis, which, while supportive of digitization, cautioned that non-Muslim board inclusion risks communal tensions—a mild critique rooted in Europe’s secular lens.

Why the Global Lens on Waqf Act 2025 ?

As global media outlets have reacted to the Waqf Act, it’s crucial to examine why this issue has garnered international attention and what it reveals about Bharat’s pluralistic image.

Bharat’s third-largest Muslim population—14.2% of its 1.4 billion citizens—makes waqf a global bellwether for religious freedom, drawing intense international scrutiny to the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025. Al Jazeera and Anadolu Agency amplify Muslim-world anxieties, framing the Act as a potential curb on Islamic endowments critical to community welfare. The BBC, The Guardian, and The New York Times tie it to democratic norms, questioning whether India’s secular fabric can withstand reforms perceived as favoring state control over minority rights. Deutsche Welle bridges it to governance efficiency, weighing transparency gains against communal risks. The property surge since 2006—fuels this spotlight, highlighting waqf’s vast potential and its entanglement in disputes, mismanagement, and political debates.

This global gaze raises deeper questions about Bharat’s  pluralistic image. Why does a nation that grants Muslims significant legal powers to propagate their faith—through autonomous Waqf Boards managing ₹1.2 lakh crore in assets—face accusations of religious bias?

Unlike Hindus, whose temple endowments often fall under stricter state oversight, Muslims enjoy constitutional protections like Article 26 to manage religious institutions, yet international narratives question Bharat’s fairness. Why, then, the perception of “hatred” toward a country offering such liberties?

Relatedly, why do reports surface of Muslim processions allegedly disrupting Hindu festivals—Navratri, Diwali, or Ram Navami—across cities like Delhi or Mumbai, while Hindu groups rarely face similar accusations against Muslim events like Eid or Muharram?

Are these tensions a byproduct of waqf’s unchecked growth, where disputed claims over land inflame communal friction, or do they reflect broader societal inequities magnified by global media?

Is part of the tension rooted in the influence of extremist interpretations within certain Islamist circles?
Do some clerics or ideological groups—within Bharat and elsewhere—invoke selective Hadiths and Quranic verses, such as Sahih Bukhari Book 52, Hadith 269; Book 49, Hadith 857; and Book 56, Hadith 678, to assert or moralize questionable waqf claims that, in practice, contradict the original Islamic principle of voluntary endowment by rightful owners?
Are these interpretations, though not representative of mainstream Islamic jurisprudence, selectively employed to justify land acquisitions that the new Bharat’s legislation rightly seeks to regulate?

The law is clear: a property becomes waqf only when voluntarily donated by the rightful owner. Yet numerous cases show Waqf Boards acquiring land under dubious claims, backed not by Shariah law or public trust, but by legal loopholes from older Waqf Acts. How does a property, never willed as waqf, suddenly become ‘property of Allah’?

Is there a threat perception to the Western media owing to the rise of Bharat, a presumed Third World country and former colony of the West that is challenging the stature of the Western powers in popularity and strength?

Such questions challenge Bharat to reconcile its secular promises with the realities of interfaith dynamics, under an unforgiving international microscope.

Author’s Take: A Delicate Balance

Waqf Act’s journey—from 1995’s structure to 2013’s expansion and 2025’s reboot—mirrors a tug-of-war between tradition and reform. The property boom (78% growth post-1995, 45% post-2013) proves its relevance but begs accountability. Global reactions, from DW’s blend of cautious support for transparency with sharp warnings of communal risks to The Guardian’s alarm, reflect this split: a fix for corruption or a fracture of trust? For me, it’s about execution—can Bharat’s honor waqf’s spirit while curbing its flaws? The world’s watching, and the answer will shape more than just land records.

🔔 Call to Action:

As Bharat reforms its waqf laws, deeper questions remain unanswered:
Can a secular state protect minority rights without enabling institutional misuse?
Can genuine reform survive the noise of global media bias?
Why is Bharat questioned for offering liberties others deny?

It’s time for soul-searching—not just in Bharat, but across the world.
Should sacred endowments be tools of faith or weapons of control?
And when reform begins at home, will the world listen—or just judge?

What do you think? Does the global gaze reflect concern—or convenience? Join the conversation.

Feature Image: Click here to view the image.

Glossary of Terms

1. Waqf: A charitable endowment in Islamic law, where property or assets are donated for religious or social purposes.
2. Waqf Act: A law governing the administration and management of waqf properties in Bharat.
3. Waqf Board: A statutory body responsible for managing and overseeing waqf properties.
4. Secular Governance: A system of government where religion and state are separate.
5. Pluralistic Image: A representation of diversity and inclusivity in society.
6. Digitization: The process of converting information into digital format for easier access and management.
7. Non-Muslim Board Members: Individuals from non-Muslim communities appointed to waqf boards to ensure diversity and inclusivity.
8. Land Validation: The process of verifying and authenticating land ownership and usage.
9. Encroachments: Unauthorized occupation or use of land or property.
10. Hindu Endowment Act: A law governing Hindu religious endowments and institutions.
11. Al Jazeera: A Qatari-based international news organization.
12. Deutsche Welle: A German public international broadcaster.

References:

1. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/3/indian-parliaments-lower-house-passes-controversial-muslim-endowments-bill
2. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/25/government-encroachment-of-indias-waqf-lands-a-madhya-pradesh-example
3. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy744983e3o
4. https://prsindia.org/billtrack/the-waqf-amendment-bill-2024
5. https://x.com/TimesNow/status/1908539057002443062
6. https://x.com/SandeepC51371/status/1910228282949185689
7. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/myview/waqf-act1995-a-tool-given-to-waqf-boards-to-snatch-the-property-of-hindus/

#WaqfAct #ReligiousFreedomIndia #WaqfAmendment2025 #GlobalMediaBias #IndianSecularism #Bharat #waqfact2025 #WaqfAmendmentAct2025