Two days after reports of Namaz being offered on Bakrid at one of the holiest sites of Hinduism, Badrinath, created a flutter on social media websites, a 2017 video of a Darul Uloom Deoband’s Maulana Abdul Latif Qasmi from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh laying claims on the Hindu shrine has now gone viral on social media.
In the video, the Maulana says the Hindus should hand over the ninth-century shrine to Muslims. “Yeh Badrinath nahi Badruddin Shah hain” (it is not Badrinath, it is Badruddin Shah), says the Maulana adding that merely suffixing “nath” at the end of the name will not convert the place into a religious shrine of the Hindus.
अभी तो यह लोग देवभूमि में ही बसे हैं अब इन लोगों का कहना यह भी है कि बद्रीनाथ हमारा है। ईद के दिन इन लोगों ने बद्रीनाथ पे जाकर नमाज अदा की आगे आप लोग जागे नहीं तो क्या-क्या हो सकते हैं#उत्तराखंड_मांगे_भू_कानून #BadrinathDham #uttarakhandnews pic.twitter.com/274aqA4mSB
— Tejpal Rawat (@TejpalRawat14) July 24, 2021
The Mufti goes on to audaciously say that the Hindus should hand over the shrine to the Muslims as it originally belonged to Muslims. He asks Hindus to look back into history before claiming possession of the shrine.
Abdul Latif Qasmi also demands from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat to handover the shrine to Muslims. Besides, he asks the temple management to vacate the temple.
The 1:00 minute video ends with the Maulana threatening Hindus that Muslims would lay hold of the shrine if not given back to them. “If it is not given back to us, we Muslims would march to the shrine and capture it”, says the Uttar Pradesh Maulana.
Maulana had laid claim on Badrinath in 2017
It is pertinent to note here that this video which has resurfaced on the microblogging site today is originally from 2017. On November 15, 2017, Maulana Abdul Latif Qasmi has made this obnoxious claim. Reacting to these remarks, UP CM Yogi Aditynath had then said: “It is an attempt to disturb the harmony and peace in society. The government has taken cognizance of the matter and surely action will be taken such elements.”
Meanwhile, Netizens were outraged after the video went viral on Twitter. Many demanded that the Maulana be arrested.
The demand of the arrest of Maulana increases as his old video goes viral
Letting out his fury over the Maulana’s remark, Zee Media journalist Tejpal Rawat asked Hindus to wake up before it’s too late. “These people not only audaciously offer Namaz on Bakrid at Badrinath but are also laying claim on the Hindu shrine. Hindu’s wake up before things go out of control”, Tweeted Rawat in Hindi.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Patel Umrao opined that Maulana Abdul Latif’s statement can pose a threat to the law and order of the state. Tagging Saharanpur Police and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in his Tweet he demanded that the Maulana be arrested for hurting Hindus religious sentiments and disturbing social unity.
यह देवबंद सहारनपुर का मुफ़्ती अब्दुल लतीफ है जो श्री बद्रीनाथ धाम पर मार्च करके कब्जा करने की बात कर रहा है। इसका वक्तव्य प्रदेश की कानून व्यवस्था के लिए खतरा पैदा कर सकता है। इसकी शीघ्र गिरफ्तारी हो।@Uppolice @dgpup @adgzonemeerut @saharanpurpol @myogiadityanath @myogioffice https://t.co/L7I1dqE7dZ
— Prashant Umrao (@ippatel) July 25, 2021
Rumours of Namaz being offered inside Badrinath shrine
On July 22, the news of 15 labourers offering Namaz at Badrinath Dham in the holy town on the occasion of the Bakri Eid on July 21 (Wednesday) started doing the rounds on social media, with users demanding a probe into the matter as to how non-Hindus were allowed to offer Namaz inside the premises of a hallowed Hindu shrine.
However, later the rumours floating on social media were dispelled after it was reported that the labourers did not offer namaz inside the temple premises of Badrinath Dham. Instead, it was offered 700 metres away from the temple premises. An FIR has also been lodged in connection with the unlawful assembly of people during the pandemic.
