Lucknow: Suggestions by a section of Muslim leaders and clerics that Prime Minister Narendra Modi lay the foundation of the proposed mosque in Ayodhya’s Dhannipur, on the lines of the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony at the under-construction Ram temple, have met with objections from Mahmood Asad Madani, chief of the Mahmood faction of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JUH).
In a video statement he issued late Friday evening, Madani said Modi should steer clear from laying the foundation stone of ‘any place of worship’.
His remarks were preceded by a group of Muslim leaders including the chief of the Ayodhya unit of JUH suggesting that Modi lay the foundation stone of the proposed mosque during his trip to Ayodhya for ‘pran pratishtha’ of the idol of Ram Lalla at the temple next year.
The Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust, tasked with overseeing construction of the Ram temple, has extended an official invitation to Modi for the ceremony, scheduled for 22 January 2024.
The Supreme Court had in its 2019 verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi title suit handed over a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board in Dhannipur for the construction of a mosque.
‘Wazir-e-Azam of both Hindus & Muslims’
Not long after Modi accepted the trust’s invitation, a section of Muslim leaders including the president of the Ayodhya unit of JUH suggested that the Prime Minister laying the foundation of the proposed mosque in Dhannipur would serve as a message to the country.
Speaking to ThePrint Saturday, Badshah Khan, president of Ayodhya unit of JUH and a former litigant in the now-settled Ram Janmabhoomi title suit, said Modi is the “Wazir-e-Azam” (PM) of both Hindus and Muslims.
“He is the Wazir-e-Azam of both Hindus and Muslims of the entire country. When he is coming to Ayodhya for the consecration at Ram temple, the mosque is also related to it, he should also lay the foundation for that.”
Khan added that while “Hindus are moving ahead with the construction of their place of worship, construction of the mosque too should pick up pace”.
“When he (Modi) is coming to Ayodhya and supporting one side, he should support the other side too. It will give a message that the PM belongs to everyone,” he said.
Najmul Hasan Ghani, acting state president of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), too suggested that Modi lay the foundation of the mosque along with Imam Ahmed Bukhari — Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid.
“I believe that when the Supreme Court gave a decision, in light of the same, a mosque will be constructed in Dhannipur and a Ram temple is being constructed too. I believe when he (PM) inaugurates the temple, he along with Imam Bukhari should lay the foundation of the Dhannipur mosque too in the same manner. This will send a good message to the country and the ganga-jamuni tehzeeb will be strengthened,” said Ghani.
‘This is a matter of the public’: Madani
However, after Khan and others first made this suggestion Thursday, JUH chief Mahmood Asad Madani made his reservations clear against the idea and warned local JUH leaders of action if they were to endorse the idea of Modi laying the foundation of the proposed mosque.
“One thing is being said about Ayodhya that a mosque is being constructed there and the PM should inaugurate it. So, I want to say two things about this very clearly. One is that we don’t think that the verdict that came in connection with the Ayodhya matter is right. It is our belief that the verdict was delivered in the wrong atmosphere and using the wrong method and on the wrong foundation,” Madani said in a video statement Friday.
The #BabriMasjid Judgement was completely wrong. The Prime Minister should not participate in the inauguration ceremony in #Ayodhya: Maulana Mahmood Asad Madani pic.twitter.com/BROfdPXFpv
— Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (@JamiatUlama_in) October 27, 2023
He added that the “Prime Minister should not go for the foundation laying or inauguration of any mosque or place of worship and maintain distance from any such activity”.
“…because this is a matter of the public. The public and religious leaders should engage in it. And I want to tell the representatives of JUH there (Ayodhya) and at other places that if they participate in this kind of discussion, action will be taken against them,” he said.
Asked about Madani’s comments, Khan, however, said they (local leadership of JUH) “can understand the ongoing discussions at the local level better”. He added that there is “no opposition to the idea” at the local level.
“When he (PM) is coming to Ayodhya, he should make both the communities happy,” Khan told ThePrint.
Slow pace of construction, ‘low contributions’
Some former litigants of the now-settled Ram Janmabhoomi title suit have also raised concerns over the pace of the construction of the proposed mosque.
“When people ask how much of the work is done, a sense of embarrassment sets in because people don’t want to associate with those in the trust. So while the temple is almost ready, no work has been done on the mosque front,” former litigant Iqbal Ansari said Thursday.
He also told mediapersons in Ayodhya that the government “needs to support and change the trustees (of the mosque trust) because had the right people been appointed trustees, some progress would’ve been made”.
On his part, Khan said the government has not accommodated any former litigant in the trust formed to oversee the construction of the mosque. “The government has appointed those they wanted (in the trust),” he added.
Athar Hussain, secretary of Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation, tasked with construction of a complex of several structures, including the Dhannipur mosque, told ThePrint that the trust is still in the process of collecting funds and no such event to lay the foundation is on the cards for now.
“So far, we are not holding any event, programme or foundation laying ceremony. I only stated that he is the Prime Minister of the country, if he is visiting Ayodhya, we will of course welcome him but we are still in the process of raising funds for the mosque,” he said.
Hussain also said that one should not compare the under-construction Ram temple and the proposed mosque.
“The verdict came on November 9, 2019 and we took over the construction ten months later. We have envisaged a mosque along with a charitable hospital, community kitchen and museum dedicated to Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah Faizabadi, hero of the 1857 freedom struggle, to send the public a message. A lot of assurances were made verbally but so far the monetary contribution is low,” he said.
Asked about the allegations on the composition of the trust, Hussain refused to comment.
“If any interested person can help make a single medical facility available for the hospital, I am ready to relinquish my membership of the trust,” he said.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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