Mosque-temple dispute lands in Indian court

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI (AA) - A local court in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh will hear a petition filed by right-wing Hindu organizations, claiming that the existing Jama Masjid Shamsi in Badaun city was built after demolishing a Hindu temple.

Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, a local Hindu organization, along with some local residents last month filed the petition, claiming the mosque was built after razing the temple of Lord Neelkanth Mahadev.

The Badaun court fixed Sept. 15 for hearing and issued notices to the mosque management, Uttar Pradesh Sunni Waqf Board, the state government and the union government.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, the lawyer for Jama Masjid, Asrar Ahmad Siddiqui, said: “There is no proof available that it was a temple and the mosque was built after destroying it.”

Siddiqui also claimed that the mosque was built by Sultan Iltutmish, the ruler of Delhi, in 1222.

Mobin Khan, an official at Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board, an organization looking after mosques, said he is unable to comment on the status of the mosque at present.

“I have to see the relevant papers before any comment on the issue,” he told Anadolu Agency.

Muslims in India are concerned by the campaign of Hindu right-wing groups to claim Muslim monuments and mosques.

Hindu groups in various Indian cities have claimed that mosques and monuments built during the Mughal era were built after razing Hindu temples.