Adding harsh, invalid, and distorted ‘facts’ to the ongoing Gyanvapi-Shivling row, Maulana Sajid Rashidi, the President of All India Imam Association, on May 19 stated that the Hindu religion is no religion in the first place and that people were unnecessarily being happy over the Shivling discovered in the disputed structure of Gyanvapi Masjid. He blatantly termed the Shivling as a ‘fountain’ and made several attempts to demean the Hindu culture and belief.
In an exclusive interview with activist Amber Zaidi, the Maulana accused the judiciary of issuing a biased order in favour of Hindus. “No court in India has the right to interfere in the religious places existing since the year 1947 and no court can allow petitions that defy the Places of Worship Act. In this case, the court allowed the petition, allowed a videography survey, and has now interfered in the religious practices of mosques by barring entry of Muslims in Wuzukhana. Wuzu is the most important part of Namaz and Court is responsible for ruining the Islamic religious practice here”, he alleged.
Maulana Sajid Rashidi also criticised the Supreme Court and Justice Ranjan Gogoi for delivering the Ayodhya verdict in favor of Hindus. He said that the Court did not deliver the judgment on the facts, it used the special powers and gave away the land to Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra. “The decision was biased. Gogoi had his eyes on Rajya Sabha then. The decision was not based on the ASI survey or other relevant facts”, he alleged.
He also added that the Gyanvapi Masjid has been in existence since the rule of Mughal Emperor Akbar and was not built by Aurangzeb by demolishing a temple. “No temple was demolished. There is no Shivling there. The structure recently discovered is part of an old fountain and not a Shivling”, he claimed. Supporting his belief, he said further, “Why would older Islamic rulers act so dumb to destroy the temple and preserve the Shivling for more than 100 years? If they had plans to destroy the temples, why would they keep the Shivling!”.
When activist Amber Zaidi asked ‘why were people from the Muslim community mocking the Shivling and hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus over social media’, Maulana Rashidi claimed that Hindus had themselves attracted the mockery. “Calling fountain a Shivling is in itself a big joke. Why won’t people make fun of it? They (Hindus) should understand that every dome-shaped structure cannot be a Shivling”, he said blatantly reiterating that Hinduism was never a religion. (Time stamp: 17.10)
Maulana Rashidi’s warning Hindus in past-
Maulana Sajid Rashidi is known for his ‘scholarly’ opinions that mostly are anti-hindu and difficult for the civic society to acknowledge. On January 8, he had passed several warnings that Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir might be demolished by some Mohammad Bin Qasim in future. He had tried to articulate mythical fantasy that leftists in India continue to peddle in order to whitewash the crimes of tyrannical Muslim rulers who invaded India.
Rashidi had said that Muslim kings who ruled India in the past were benevolent and secular rulers, who not only built mosques for their Muslim subjects but also built temples and generously donated for the upkeep of existing Hindu religious places. He had made similar controversial remarks during the Bhumi pujan of the Ram Temple in August 2020.
He had then said that a mosque will be rebuilt after demolishing the Ram Mandir. He also had claimed that Prime Minister Modi had ‘violated the constitution’ by visiting the Ayodhya temple event. A complaint was later filed against the Islamic cleric for making provocative statements against Hindus and for issuing threats to demolish the under-construction Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.
Shivling found in disputed Gyanvapi structure-
A court-monitored survey of the disputed Gyanvapi structure found a Shivling inside the Wuzukhana of the mosque. The Wuzukhana is a place inside a mosque where Muslims wash their hands and feet before offering namaz. The apex court on Tuesday issued orders to protect the site from where the Shivling was discovered from the disputed structure. The order also denies entry of Muslims in Wuzukhana, disallowing washing of their feet and spitting on the Shivling. Supreme Court however also maintains that the order in any manner should not restrict or impede the right of the Muslims to use the Mosque for religious purposes.
