Waqf Board chief Darakhshan Andrabi denies order on uniform Friday sermons after row in Kashmir

Srinagar: BJP leader and Jammu and Kashmir Waqf Board chairperson Darakhshan Andrabi on Tuesday denied issuing any order making uniform Friday sermons mandatory, following a controversy over the proposed move that drew opposition from Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti.Addressing a press conference in Srinagar, Andrabi said religious scholars and preachers were free to decide the content of their sermons and that the Board had issued no directive imposing a common khutba, or Friday sermon.

“There is no order. There is no order anywhere,” she said, rejecting allegations that the initiative sought to regulate religious discourse.Andrabi said religious scholars had discussed social concerns, including drug abuse and problems faced by young people, and expressed willingness to address such issues through their sermons.She said the proposed initiative was intended to tackle social problems and that scholars would independently decide what to preach.