India, Sept. 15 -- The Supreme Court's decision to suspend some of the most controversial provisions of the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Act is a significant moment in the evolving debate around the Islamic charitable endowments. It offers all stakeholders, especially the government, an opportunity to take a step back from the fractious politics enveloping the debate that is preventing genuine reform in the decades-old regulation that governs such charities.

Hearing a batch of petitions, the apex court on Monday suspended the collector's powers to unilaterally decide whether a property is waqf (an endowment) or government land and alter revenue records, and the requirement that only a practising Muslim for at least five years can create ...