New Delhi, Jan. 31: The Vice-President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), Malik Moatasim Khan has expressed concern over the misleading campaign regarding Gyanvapi Masjid.
In a statement to the media, Mr. Khan said, “We are concerned over certain sectarian and mischievous people orchestrating a misleading campaign regarding the Gyanvapi Masjid. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) report is being misinterpreted and circulated with the express intent of misleading the public, influencing the judiciary, and spoiling the communal harmony in the country by creating a rift between two religious communities. Jamaat-e-Islami Hind believes that the ASI report does not constitute conclusive evidence in this controversial matter.”
The JIH Vice President further said, “We wish to emphasize the need to abide by the Places of Worship Act 1991 in letter and spirit. The Act provides a guarantee for the preservation of the religious character of places of public worship as they existed on August 15, 1947. Staking claim to the places of worship belonging to other religious communities based on “Aastha” or the alleged presence of another pre-existing religious structure will open a Pandora’s box of claims and counter-claims. For example, Buddhists claim more than 84,000 Buddhist viharas, stupas, and statues were demolished by Hindu kings. Jains claim that thousands of Jain mandirs have been converted into Hindu mandirs and almost all the popular Hindu pilgrimage places were once upon a time Jain mandirs. Hindus have a list of 2000 mosques in the country that they claim were built over Hindu mandirs. Will these places of worship be handed over to their new claimants? It will lead to chaos and anarchy. We should not allow this reversal of history and aid the raking up of emotional issues for doing vote-bank politics.”
The JIH leader added, “In the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid case too, the ASI had claimed the existence of a ‘non-Islamic structure’ under the mosque. However, the Supreme Court of India gave precedence to the opinion of prominent archaeologists who denied any possibility of the Babri Masjid being built by demolishing a pre-existing Ram temple. JIH supports the views of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) that the ASI report on the Gyanvapi Masjid should be thoroughly reviewed by experts, and its fate should be determined by the court, and not by a prejudiced media campaign.”
The JIH VP averred, “We regret that efforts are being made to influence state institutions to make them biased to favor a particular community by compromising on the principles of truth and justice. We appeal to the people of the country not to form any opinion on the Gyanvapi Masjid until the final decision is announced by the judiciary. India is a secular and democratic country and does not accord any special rights or privileges to people of a particular religion or culture.”
