The alleged destruction of Hindu temples to build mosques during the almost 800 years of Muslim rule in the Indian subcontinent has been central to the RSS-BJP’s narrative. Even a senior BJP leader claimed that the Mughals had destroyed 36,000 Hindu temples and that they would “reclaim all those temples one by one.”
But the facts speak otherwise. Multiple mosques had been converted into temples even before the ancient Babri Mosque in Ayodhya was destroyed and turned into a temple recently. Jama Masjid of Farrukhnagar, Dana Shir Masjid of Hisar, Jama Masjid of Sonipat (all in Haryana), and Juma Masjid of DaultabadFort in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, were converted into temples after Independence of the country, which is a powerful testimony to how these mosques were turned into temples in a democratic and secular India.
Mohammed Mirza,a journalist who did a story on these mosques, said, “Every now and then, a local community leader with predilections towards Hindutva comes forward with a claim that a particular mosque was built on the site of a razed temple.”
Facts don’t matter to him much, nor do they to his cohorts, who spread the message ferociously on whichever social media platform they are on. In the era of half-truths and hoopla, this list of mosques that have turned into Hindu temples has been compiled to give a new dimension to the Mandir-Masjid debate.
“These structures, which were originally mosques, are being used as temples even though some of them are state-protected monuments by their respective states, and their ‘switch’ to a temple happened in the last 70 years or less – well, after they were documented as mosques – and are not merely based on hearsay.”
Jama Masjid, Farrukhnagar
First, take the case of Jama Masjid in Farrukhnagar town, Haryana.
Mughal Governor Faujdar Khan established the town of Farrukhnagar in the Gurugram District in 1732 CE. It bears the name Farrukhsiyar after the Mughal Emperor. Faujdar Khan was proclaimed the Nawab of Farrukhnagar shortly after the town was founded, and grand buildings began to appear inside its boundaries. Among these buildings stood the Jama Masjid.
This was the city’s main Friday mosque, where the Muslims of the area would congregate to offer their Friday prayers. According to historian Rana Safvi, after Pakistani refugees arrived, the mosque was transformed into a temple and gurudwara. A towering minaret from the mosque remains today, albeit in a state of disrepair.
To know the status of this mosque, Radiance contacted the District Grugram Estate Officer of the Haryana Waqf Board, Mohammed Jamaluddin. He said the mosque was illegally occupied after Partition, after the Muslim population migrated to Pakistan. Right now, there are no Muslims in the area, and the mosque is being used as a temple, while the Haryana Waqf Board has filed a lawsuit in the local court to free the mosque under illegal possession, he added.
Jama Masjid, Sonipat
The Sonipat town Masjid, known as Jama Masjid, is the third Masjid in Haryana to be turned into a temple. Although it’s now an industrial town, the most popular tourist attractions are Islamic monuments from the Mughal and pre-Mughal periods, such as the Tomb of Khwaja Khizr, the ruins of an Old Fort, and the Jama Masjid, which is currently being utilized as a Durga Mandir. The locals still refer to it as Badi Masjid (large mosque), even though it is currently in use as a temple.
There have been few changes made to the building’s facade, and the two imposing minarets that surround it remain in place. Though the mosque’s interior has changed throughout the years, the elaborate decoration on its main central dome – for which it was known – remains. It is believed that the mosque was built at the beginning of the 1800s.
Speaking with Radiance, Khurshid Ahmad, the Haryana Waqf Board’s District Sonipat Estate Officer, claimed that following Partition, non-Muslims had been occupying the mosque unlawfully. The United Punjab Waqf Board then launched legal action to contest this ownership. With the assistance of the local authority, the Waqf Board assumed possession of the mosque when the court ruled in their favor. He claimed that following ten or twelve days of Namaz, the non-Muslims forcibly took over control of the mosque. After a while, they also built a temple next to the mosque. The Board again filed a petition against the illegal takeover of the mosque and the construction of a temple adjacent to it, but the local court ruled in favor of the illegal occupiers. He said the Board went into appeal against the local court decision to the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Dana Shir Masjid, Hisar
Dana Shir Masjid is another mosque turned into a temple in Hisar, Haryana. In the past, the town took pride in having a sizable Muslim community. Numerous Islamic structures can be seen in the city, some of which date back to Firoz Shah Tughlaq’s reign (1351–1388 CE). The mosques were constructed beside the tombs of saints, as is usual for their tombs. This also applies to the Dana Shir Mosque, which was constructed adjacent to Dana Shir Bahlul Shah’s mausoleum.
With its three enormous domes commanding the horizon, the building still has the appearance of a mosque, even though it was used as a temple immediately following Partition. Interestingly, a signboard for “Bhagwan Dana Sher Mandir” is fixed on its facade.
On the fate of this mosque, Mohammed Obaidullah, the Hisar Estate Officer of the Waqf Board, told Radiance that the records of the said mosque were not available in the office of the Haryana Waqf Board. He said it was a beautiful mosque with a huge piece of land. “We are trying to demarcate its area with the District Revenue Office and retrieve ownership papers to proceed against the illegal occupation of the said mosque,” he added.
Khilji Juma Masjid, Daulatabad
Another mosque that has been virtually converted into a temple is situated far away in Maharashtra’s Daulatabad, near Aurangabad. Known as Khilji Juma Masjid, it was built by Qutbuddin Mubarak Khilji, son of Alaudin Khilji.
Sultan Alaudin Khilji first conquered Devgiri Fort in the 14th century and rechristened it Daulatabad. As his dominion grew southward in the early 14th century, his son gave the order to build a large mosque in the magnificent fort of Daulatabad. Its enormous dimensions made it one of the largest mosques in the Khilji Dynasty’s extensive kingdom at one point. For centuries after it was built, the mosque remained in operation.
The actual date of the idol’s installation in the mosque’s mihrab (prayer niche) is unknown. Locals then started worshipping there, and the opulent mosque was dubbed Bharat Mata Mandir.
Mirza Abdul Qayoum Nadvi, an activist, told Radiance that Daulatabad Fort is 10 kms from Aurangabad, and the mosque and the fort come under the ASI. He said the main responsibility lies with the ASI, which is dutybound to maintain the status quo of monuments. He said Muslims raised objections when the idols were placed in the mosque, but it went in vain.