On 5 August 2020, a ceremony of the ‘shilanayas’ of mandir was performed at the site of the Babri Masjid. The Indian Muslims have exhibited great restraint over this verdict and respected the Supreme Court of India and the nation’s judicial system. It is unfortunate for the nation’s judicial system that the apex court gave proof and evidence in favour of the masjid but ruled in favour of the mandir. This injustice was not only felt by the justice-loving people and organisations all over the world and in our country but it was also severely criticised. We too express our disagreement with this judgment. This verdict is a festering wound for the community and the nation.
The other tragedy is that the Prime Minister of our secular and democratic nation, who took an oath over the Constitution of India, also participated in the ‘shilanayas’ ceremony. The resources of the government and the government-media are being utilised with complete impunity. We feel that this approach is a blatant violation of the Constitution of India and the secular ethos of the nation and it will increase the polarisation within society. At this juncture, we jointly appeal to the Muslim community that it should remain steadfast on the path of patience, fortitude and wisdom that it has trodden in the past. “The Babri Masjid was a masjid and will always remain a masjid” – is our present position and shall remain so in the future too. We have been appealing to the conscience of the people in the past and shall In sha’ Allah continue to do so in the future. We hope that the people with conscience in our country shall not condone this tendency of violating the secular ethos of our nation.
This joint appeal has been issued by the following leaders of Muslims in India:
Maulana Wali Rahmani, General Secretary, All India Muslim Personal Law Board
Syed Sadatullah Husaini, President, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind
Maulana Tauqeer Raza, President, Muslim Ittehad Parishad, Bareilly
Navaid Hamid, President, All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat
Dr Mufti Muhammad Mukarram, Shahi Imam, Masjid Fatehpuri, Delhi
Dr. Zafarul Islam Khan, former Chairman, Delhi Minorities Commission
Dr. Muhammad Manzoor Alam, General Secretary, All India Milli Council
Dr. Qasim Rasool Ilyas, President, Welfare Party of India
Maulana Khaleelur Rahman Sajjad Nomani, Sajjada Nashi Khanqah Nomaniya, Neral, Maharashtra
Maulana Jalal Haider, President, All India Shia Council
Mufti Abdul Razzaq, President, Jamiat Ulema Hind, Delhi
Maulana Muhammad Salman Hussaini Nadvi, Nazim Jamia Sayyed Ahmed Shaheed, Malihabad, Lucknow
Abdus Salam, Chairman PFI
M K Faiz, President SDPI
Dr. Tasleem Rahmani, President MPGI
Maulana Peer Sayyed Tanveer Ahmed Hashmi, Sajjada Nashin Khanqah Hasmiya, Bijapur Karnataka
Maulana Shabbir Ahmed Nadvi, Nazim Jamiat us Swalehat, Bengaluru