Gyanvapi row: Muslim side refutes 'Masjid built on temple' claim; says it is against Islam

As the Supreme Court will hear the case of Varanasi's Gyanvapi mosque today, May 20, Secretary of Anjuman Intezamia Abdul Batin Nomani stated that Islam doesn't allow destruction of the temple. He further mentioned that they won't read namaz inside the mosque if it is built on a temple. Nomani stated that they will accept the court's decision but they approached the court as the petition filed is against the Worship Act. 

Joint Secretary of Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Syed Mohammad Yasin stated that more people gather for Friday prayers and so to avoid crowding, people are requested to offer Namaz at their local Masjid. The Wazukhana has been sealed as one of the lawyers surveying the Gyanvapi mosque claimed that a Shivling was found in a well inside the premise. 

"To avoid any kind of tense situation today, we have requested people to offer Namaz at their local Masjid as Wazukhana is sealed," Syed Mohammad Yasin said. 

Explaining the 'Wazu' system, he said, "People wash their hands, face, and feet before offering namaz and this is called Wazu."

He stressed that the hall was made for that purpose and what is claimed to be a Shivling is actually a fountain. And if they got a chance, then they will prove that it is a fountain by operating it, he added.

"Apparently, the fountain has not been working for the last eight years and the pipe on top of the fountain is rotten," he added. 

While Secretary of Anjuman Intezamia Abdul Batin Nomani went on to explain the need for a fountain in the mosque, he said, "In every old mosque, you will find a fountain. In Banaras, there are three old mosques and each one has a fountain."

Blaming the Britishers for the indifferences between the Hindus and Muslims, Abdul Batin Nomani stated, "It was the Britishers who provoked the Hindu-Muslim fight by turning Nandi's face towards the mosque." 

"It is not allowed in Islam to destroy a temple and build a mosque. We ourselves won't read namaz inside if the mosque is built on a temple," he added. 

Dismissing the fact that the mosque was built on a temple, the Secretary of Anjuman Intezamia stated, "Aurangzeb rebuilt the mosque on the old mosque. Then how can you say it was built by destroying a temple?"

Supreme Court to hear Gyanvapi Mosque case on May 20

On Thursday, May 19, the Supreme Court said that it will hear the Gyanvapi Mosque case on May 20, Friday, at 3 pm and further asked the trial court in Varanasi not to proceed with the Gyanvapi Mosque case until Friday.

Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain urged the court to take up the matter for hearing on Friday as he informed a bench of Justices DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant, and PS Narasimha that lead counsel Hari Shankar Jain for the Hindu devotees in the civil suit in the case is indisposed. 

Image: PTI, Republic World