by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
By Shuriah Niazi,
New Delhi: Muslims in Indian city of Agra would no longer be able to offer prayers at the mosque situated on the premises of landmark Taj Mahal except on Fridays.
According to the directives issued by the Archaeological Survey of India, Muslims will be allowed to offer prayers at the Taj Mahal mosque only on Fridays.
The decision was taken in accordance with the order of the Supreme Court of India, Vasant Swarankar, superintending archaeologist at ASI’s Agra chapter, told the Times of India, a local daily.
“Namaz (prayer) can only be offered on Fridays and that, too, by local residents only,” Swarankar said.
Syed Ibrahim Hussain Zaidi, president of the mosque’s management committee, termed the decision as an “anti-Muslim” move.
“This show their mindset. The order is illegal and you cannot prohibit residents from offering prayers on other days,” Zaidi told Anadolu Agency.
Earlier in July, The Supreme Court of India had refused to allow prayers by outsiders at the mosque on the premises of the Taj Mahal, saying the monument’s preservation is paramount.
The court has said that the Taj Mahal is one of the seven wonders of the world and people have several other mosques to offer their prayers.
The Taj Mahal is a 16th century marble mausoleum built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife. Thousands of people visit Agra every year to see the famous Taj Mahal.
The mosque there remains closed on Fridays for the general public. The locals are allowed to offer prayer at the mosque between noon and 2 pm on Fridays after showing identity proof.
—AA
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
By Sidhartha Dutta,
New Delhi : As Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s funeral procession wound its way through Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, a man wearing a skull cap and sporting a flowing beard, led a group of madrassa students chanting in praise of the departed leader as a mark of gratitude for the former Prime Minister who once helped him settle a dispute over a mosque.
The students from a nearby Muslim seminary said they had been waiting near a busy crossing close to ITO since early morning on a sultry Friday.
“These children got ready in the morning. They have been waiting since then to get a glimpse of Vajpayee-ji. They said when his funeral procession will pass through the road, they would salute him. He was a man of truth. And such men live forever,” Ameen-ud-Din told IANS.
Ameen-ud-Din is a member of the management of Madrassa Rasheedia, run by Masjid Bhoori Bhatiyari at Bahadur Shah Marg in central Delhi.
“For a man who stood behind each one of us, we have only this to say that ‘Jab tak sooraj chaand rahega….Atalji ka naam rahega‘.”
Ameen-ud-Din said he had always remembered Vajpayee as a leader “who took people of every religion along, a genuine human being”.
“We respect him for that. We would want to thank him from the bottom of our hearts.”
Ameen-ud-Din then narrated a story of how he had personally see Vajpayee’s large-heartedness and inclusiveness when he was the Prime Minister.
“He called us to his residence on the issue of a mosque. He treated us with respect. Our Hindu brothers were also present (in the meeting).
“He called up the Home Minister (L.K. Advani) and informed him about the matter. He also assured us that the mosque which was shut would be re-opened.
“‘You don’t worry. This is Hindustan’,” Ameen-ud-Din, recalled Vajpayee’s words of reassurance to him.
He said he had shared the anecdote with the children of the madrassa and when the news of Vajpayee’s death broke, they felt very sad.
They said such a mass leader who had such an immense respect for every religion is rare and wanted to pay their gratitude to him — posthumously though.
Vajpayee, who passed away at AIIMS on Thursday evening, had a pan-India appeal and is remembered for his six-year rule as the head of the right-wing BJP government.
The country observed a seven-day state mourning as a mark of respect for the leader was decorated with Bharat Ratna and was very popular. The tricolour is flying half-staff.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Alok Kumar
New Delhi : The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Monday said it will wait for the Supreme Court’s order to build the Ram Mandir at the disputed site in Ayodhya “lawfully” but expressed its opposition to a mosque next to it.
VHP Working President Alok Kumar said he expected the court’s order by the end of this year and it would be in favour of the temple.
“We want the Supreme Court to start day-to-day hearing in the case from July. We expect its decision would come by end of this year and construction would start next year,” Kumar told reporters here.
“The issue is about the title of the land. We do not want a mosque in the temple area. If our Muslim brothers want a mosque outside it, we will have no problem.”
In case, the decision does not come by the end of the year, the VHP would consult saints to decide the next course of action, he added.
Kumar also said former VHP President Pravin Togadia’s decision to form a new Hindu outfit — Antar-Rashtriya Hindu Parishad (AHP) — would not have any negative impact on his organisation.
“It says any organisation set on the basis of ego, ambition or copying anyone does not last long. The VHP operates on collective leadership. So there will not be any big loss to us because of it (AHP),” Kumar said.
However, Togadia can come back to the VHP as “the doors are open for him,” he said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News
By Jaideep Sarin,
Fatehgarh Sahib (Punjab) : This town of sacred pilgrimage in Punjab has been witness to one of the most tragic, painful and violent chapters of Sikh-Mughal history going back three centuries. Despite that, a 350-year-old mosque not only stands in complete harmony with a recently completed gurdwara but is looked after by the Sikh priest.
Chittian Masjidan (White Mosque), with its three white-washed domes, can be seen from a distance amidst the agricultural fields of Mahadian village. A few Mughal-era structures still dot the countryside here even as the area is dominated by Sikh shrines, the largest one being the main Fatehgarh Sahib gurdwara to which Sikh pilgrims come from all over the world.
What is unique about the mosque is that it stands just a kilometre away from the spot where the two young sons of the tenth Sikh master, Guru Gobind Singh – Fateh Singh (7) and Zorawar Singh (9), were buried alive in 1705 by the Mughal commander Wazir Khan, who was the Nawab of Sirhind, a town five km away, because they refused to convert to Islam as per the diktat of the Mughals under the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb.
The name of Fatehgarh Sahib comes from the name of the youngest son, Fateh, of the guru. The town, around 45 km from Chandigarh, is a great draw especially during the annual Jor Mela fair to commemorate the martyrdom of the young ‘sahibzadas’ (sons of the guru).
The tragic and violent history, however, has not stopped Jeet Singh, a granthi (Sikh cleric) of the Mastgarh Sahib Chittian gurdwara from maintaining the mosque’s ancient structure.
“I have been maintaining the (mosque) building for the past four years. It was in a very bad shape when I came here. I clean it from inside daily even though no Muslims (who live in nearby villages) come here for prayers,” Jeet Singh told IANS, standing in front of the partially dilapidated structure.
Jeet Singh said that the mosque, which is believed to be over 350 years old, was abandoned for a number of years till a Sikh religious leader of the area, Arjun Singh Sodhi, got the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, kept inside. For nearly a century, the mosque building was used as a gurdwara.
“The Sangat (Sikh community) then decided to build a new gurdwara in the same complex as this (mosque) building was getting old and cracks were appearing on its walls and domes. The gurdwara is now complete and Guru Granth Sahib has been kept there. With whatever means, we try to maintain the mosque building and keep it clean,” Jeet Singh, 43, who shifted here four years back, said.
The mosque and gurdwara stand side by side in perfect communal harmony within the four walls of the complex. The mosque building gets a periodic whitewash and minor repairs, if required. There is nothing kept inside the structure.
“I have researched the history of this place, talking to old people (Muslims, Sikhs and others) of the area. The qazi (Muslim cleric) of this masjid (mosque) is said to have issued the fatwa (a religious edict) condemning the young sahibzadas to death. However, he is believed to have opposed the move initially saying that the children were too young for the ruthless punishment,” said Jeet Singh, who is in charge of the complex along with Hakam Singh (senior in-charge).
He says that the Muslims of the nearby area of Bassi Pathana had objected when the mosque was initially used as a gurdwara in the beginning of the 20th century. However, the then Maharaja of Patiala came to the place and resolved the matter and the gurdwara continued in the old structure for a number of years.
“A number of Muslims live in nearby villages but they have their own mosques. No one comes here for prayers but we don’t stop anyone. We have respect for all religions,” Jeet Singh, a soft-spoken man who lives in the complex with his wife and two children, said with a smile.
Historians believe that the mosque dates back to the period of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and was built between 1628 and 1658.
The mosque structure survived the fury of the Sikh-Mughal battles. Even though the Sikhs defeated Wazir Khan in 1710 and re-claimed the area, the mosque survived the onslaught and today stands as silent testimony to communal fraternity in troubled times.
(This weekly feature series is part of a positive-journalism project of IANS and the Frank Islam Foundation. Jaideep Sarin can be contacted at jaideep.s@ians.in)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Entrepreneurship, News, Social Entrepreneur
In the small Maholi town in Sitapur district, people of different faith have come together for a common cause — to clean the polluted Kathina river.
By Kushagra Dixit,
Maholi (Uttar Pradesh) : With inter-community violence reported from many parts of India in a society increasingly polarised on religious and caste lines, a small town in Uttar Pradesh is setting an extraordinary example where a temple, a mosque, and even a gurdwara, have joined hands to clean a polluted river while bringing their communities together.
About 100 km from the state capital Lucknow is the town named Maholi in district Sitapur. Here lies an old Shiva and a Radha-Krishna temple along with Pragyana Satsang Ashram and a mosque, all at a stone’s throw of each other.
Along the periphery of this amalgamated religious campus, passes a polluted river called Kathina, that merges into the highly polluted Gomti River, a tributary of the mighty but polluted Ganga.
Often used as dumping site by dozens of villages and devotees, the stink from Kathina was increasing daily. The solution — Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb (a term used for a fusion of Hindu and Muslim elements) – of Awadh.
“The river belongs to everyone. Hindus use it for ‘aachman’ (a Hindu ritual for spiritual purification), Muslims use it for ‘wazu’ or ablution. Due to lack of awareness, people had been dumping solid and bio waste here, and also doing open defecation. The situation was worsening. Only solution was to start cleaning it ourselves,” said Swami Vigyananad Saraswati, head of the Pragyana Satsang Ashram, as he inspects the river stretch along with Muhammad Haneef, head of the mosque’s managing committee.
Swami said that once the ashram and temple administration began rallying volunteers for the cleaning drive, the mosque also came around to help. Even Maholi’s Sikh gurudwara committee came forward and brought along many volunteers from the Sikh community.
“Once the communities came together, number of volunteers multiplied. The initiative has now become a kind of an environment-movement which is being driven by religious fervor and bonding. Watching our efforts, the local administration also offered help, and other unions like traders and Sikh gurudwara committee also joined hand for cleaning the river,” Swami told IANS pointing out the potential of possibilities when different communities join hands for good.
Ujagar Singh, a member of the Sikh gurdwara committee, equated the effort in cleaning the river with ‘sewa’, an important aspect of Sikhism to provide a service to the community.
“Keeping our rivers clean is our duty and we will continue sewa whenever required,” he said.
The temple and mosque, near the town’s police station, were both built in 1962 by then Inspector Jaikaran Singh. The communal fervor is shared since years. During ‘namaaz’, the ashram switches off its loudspeakers and on Hindu festivals and special occasions, the mosque committee helps the temple with arrangements.
Still underway, the joint Hindu-Muslim team began cleaning the river from March 14. According to the volunteers, it took three days alone to get the river front cleaned of defecation.
“Many villages do not have toilets and volunteers had to stay here round the clock to stop people from defecating or throwing waste. The work was divided. Muslims volunteers would take over the Muslim majority areas and Hindus would tackle other areas, convincing people to stop pollution further while we clean,” Muhammad Haneef told IANS.
The actual cleaning of the river began from March 17, when about 400 volunteers got into the waters, while about 700 of them cleaned the shores.
“Several trolleys of garbage — that included plastic, polythene, shoes, rubber, animal carcasses, human waste, glass and ceramic waste, and even some old boat wreck — were taken out of the river.
“Apart from that, several trolleys of water hyacinth, an invasive species of water plant, was removed. It obstructs the flow of the river,” Sarvesh Shukla, executive officer of Maholi town told IANS.
Stating that such drive is not possible unless people come together, Shukla said that since ‘mandir-masjid’ joined hand, it was very easy to convince people to cooperate.
However, with poor garbage management system of small town, Swami and Haneef looked up to the administration for help.
“Few days back, some butchers were taking waste towards the river. We stopped them and there was a heated debate. Soon other elders of the community joined and we did not let them dump the waste into the river,” said Haneef, pointing out that stopping people without proper management could be daunting in future.
Swami said that they would need disilting machines to clean the river towards the second phase.
According to Abdul Rauf from the mosque committee, the work is only half done.
“The challenge is to maintain the cleanliness. We could clean only a small stretch of the river. We will rally again and take movement to second phase once we get directions from our elder brother Swami ji,” says Rauf.
Nearly one kilometer of the stretch has been cleaned. The volunteers are aiming to clean another kilometer of it.
However, be it river or communal fervor, the challenge, as residents of Maholi find, is consistency of the good.
“There are bad elements everywhere. Few weeks back, a fringe group named Vishwa Hindu Jagran Parishad entered a Muslim-majority area and started hurling abuses. Before they would do more damage, the Hindus of that area came forward and retaliated. The group never returned since,” said Shailendra Mishra, a local resident and member of temple committee.
In another incidents, last year in September, when dates of Durgapuja and Muharram clashed, Mishra and Muhammad Rizwan, Haneef’s son, took charge.
“All we had to do was keep a few notorious people from both communities at bay. About 5,000 strong Hindu’s Devi Shakti procession and about 2,000 strong Muslim Tazia procession of Muharram used the same road at the same time. Not a single untoward incident happened,” Haneef said.
(The weekly feature series is part of a positive-journalism project of IANS and the Frank Islam Foundation. Kushagra Dixit can be reached at kushagra.d@ians.in)
—IANS
