Ramjanmasthan Ayodhya and the Muslims

The atmosphere in the country is getting heated on the issue of Ramjanmasthan Ayodhya and the disputed structure that was brought down on December 6, 1992, by millions of Karsevaks gathered there to perform Karseva. Twenty-six years later, the issue is once again on the boil and everyone is trying to look at it from the political point of view – most of the observers feeling that the ruling BJP will definitely reap the benefits of this heat on Ayodhya.

The other school of critics and observers –and this includes the Congress, Left, and secular politicians, intellectuals, journalists and commentators – blame the BJP-RSS-VHP combine for fanning the communal fire to win the elections in the absence of any valid, reasonable issue to seek the popular mandate. They feel that by arousing feelings and emotions on this issue the Hindutva forces could maintain their grip on the seat of power.

Whatever their analysis may be, let us not get indulged in this game. All these observers are neglecting the most important other factor in this entire issue. And that is the Muslims in India. How do they look at this? How they plan to resolve it? How the common Indian Muslim view this problem? How the Muslim mind in India is slowly getting transformed by this movement? All these valid and vital issues do not matter for the Congress-Left-Secular brigade. They are contented only in insulting the millions of Hindus who have strong faith in Ayodhya being the birthplace of Sri Ram – the ideal of Bharat and Bharatiyata or Hindu and Hindutva or Hindustani and Hindustanyat or India and Indians.

This silent transformation among the Muslims in India is the result of the tireless efforts of thousands of workers of Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) who, under the guidance of its Patron and senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionary Indresh Kumar, are spreading the message of love, brotherhood and nationalism among the Muslim masses since last 15-16 years. The campaign is now delivering the results.

Since its inception in 2002 December, the MRM (of course, the name was given to the organization in 2005) has taken up issues of national importance such as Jammu & Kashmir, Cow Slaughter, Women’s empowerment, Triple Talaq, Infiltration of Bangladeshi Muslims, Academic and Financial uplift of Muslim masses, and the most important is the Ramjanmasthan Ayodhya dispute. Emotions were very high in 2002 and the decade that followed in this issue, especially against the background of the Godhra incident and subsequent Gujarat riots that shook the world. But even in such situation, the MRM workers did their job deftly and silently. Their results are now becoming visible.

The Muslims, especially the Shia community has come out in the open in support of the magnificent temple at the Ramjanmasthan Ayodhya. Wasim Rizvi, the Chairman of the Shia Wakf Board of Lucknow has time and again vouched his support to the temple. The Chairman of the National Minority Commission (NCM) Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi too had extended his support to Ram Temple and offered all the help and assistance for accomplishing the task. “This (the construction) will end the very reason of Hindu-Muslim tension and strife”, he emphatically stated in an interview to a television channel recently.

The common Muslim masses are also of the opinion in favour of building a grand temple of Lord Ram whom they recognise as ‘Imam-E-Hind’. Allama Iqbal, the famous Urdu poet whose ‘Saare Jahan se Achha..Hindostan Hamra’ has become so popular even he had defected to Pakistan after partition, has glorified Lord Ram as ‘Imam-e-Hind’. Writes Iqbal:

है राम के वजूद पे हिन्दोस्तां को नाज, अहले नजर समझते हैं उसको इमामे हिंद

“Ram is the Pride of Hindustan and known as ‘Imam-e-Hind’.

Even the Holy Quran says that Allah had despatched 1.24 lakh nabis meaning religious preachers at different times and at different lands to guide the humanity on to the righteous path and Prophet Mohamamd is the last amongst them. The Quran also gives the names of some 20-25 such nabis. The Prophet also verifies this. Sri Ram came on this earth many eons before the Prophet arrived 1400 years ago. And he recognized this. That makes, Sri Ram a nabi in the eyes of the Prophet and his true followers. His birthplace is Ayodhya.

Indresh Kumar, addressing the meeting of the MRM activists, mostly State Conveners and National Conveners in Delhi on November 17, underlined this argument in most convincing way. He said: “The Prophet did never visit Hind, but he made a comment that perfectly describes the land. He had said that whenever he remains in tension or confronts tense moments, he receives a cool breeze of solace from the land of Hind. His comment implies that Hind is a special land that has evolved an all-encompassing culture and a world view spreading the light of humanity and peace all over the earth.”

The Prophet also said that there were 1.24 lakh nabis before him and by remembering them your vision will get broaden. Sri Ram was also one amongst those nabis and his birthplace was at Ayodhya. The Prophet did never come to Hind but he made this comment.

This birth place and the temple erected there in memory of Sri Ram was destroyed by the invading Mughal Emperor Babur and his chieftain Mir Banki in 1526. Since then the fight to regain the land has been going on. In independent India the tussle for Ramjanmasthan Ayodhya has been going on at least for 26 years since the 1992 demolition of the disputed structure.

Who was Babur? What relation did he have with the Muslims in India? Was he protector of their interests or invader? Was he Hindustani or outsider? What happened in the legal course of action was nothing but a big dishonesty and lie. Ways to resolve this tangle will be found in Quran, Hadis and Sunnat.

Islam says the entre land is pure to offer namaz. And hence, whenever time for namaz approaches, a true Muslim can offer namaz anywhere he happens to be – whether in a train, or an airplane, or a bus. But Mosques are better as they are erected on pure and undisputed lands.

According to Islam, the sacred land is that which is offered in wakf, or donated by someone, or purchased by hard earned money but the condition for land is same. The land should not contain a structure of any other religion. Even if the structure is to be dismantled proper compensation for that should be paid.

Now in case of Ayodhya, whether anyone had given in wakf or donated this land to Babur? Thousands of acres of land was lying vacant in Ayodhya which could be donated or which Babur could have purchased for constructing a mosque. But he did not. Instead, his captain demolished a temple build in memory of a nabi called Sri Ram. Quran says if mosque is built destroying the other religion’s structures, it will not be accepted by the Allah and the namaz offered there will not be accepted. And the perpetrator will go to jahannum or hell. Thus Babur had violated all the three instructions of the Holy Quran.

Not only this, he had violated the fourth one also. Quran says that no mosque will be named after any individual however big he is. It gives 99 names of the Allah after which the mosque can be named. In this case Babur named the mosque after him – Babri Masjid – which is a clearcut violation of this most important religious instruction. Muslims in India need to be congratulated for not offering namaz at Babri mosque because they knew that the prayer will not be accepted.

There are 22 other mosques in Ayodhya. But the lakhs of Hindus that gathered there did not touch any one of them. They only targeted the Babri mosque. Had Hindu been ‘anti-mosque’ he would have demolished all the mosques in Ayodhya. But he did not touch them even during the height of the movement and no mosque anywhere in Hindustan was also destroyed.

Therefore, Babur not only destroyed the Ramjanmasthan – the birthplace of a nabi but also insulted Islam, Qutran and the Prophet and committed atrocity on Hindustan, Hindustani and Hindustaniyat. Will the Indian Muslim stand by this Babur who insulted Islam, and committed atrocity on Hind, Hindustan and Hindustaniyat from where the Prophet would get cool breeze of peace?

Kaba at Mecca cannot be changed, excavated, or broken, Similarly, Vatican, Golden Temple also cannot be changed. Then why not apply the same rule in case of Ayodhya? What is the problem in following the path shown by the Prophet? Time has come for the government to give justice. Government said that court will give justice. All eyes were on the court justice since last many years. The court said three years ago that they will conduct day-to-day hearing and give early justice. But the Congress-Left combine indulged in arguments to delay the justice.

In the last leg of hearing, the judiciary did not do injustice; the judges did not do injustice, neither the judicial process. But one or two parties and those judges who owe allegiance to them, did the mischief. They delayed the hearing saying that the matter was not on their priority list and in a way they denied justice. Then they ridiculed it. This was the insult of Constitution, democracy, secularism, fundamental rights and faith of 125 crore Indians. Not the judiciary, not justice nor the judicial process but some judges did it and by mistake these judges were related to those parties that did not want the issue to be resolved.

The ‘Malik’ had not sent us on this land to fight with each other like enemies but live in peace, love and brotherhood. With the solution of this problem we all will move on to the path of progress and development.

By accepting the truth in Ramjanmasthan issue we will establish the fact noted by Prophet Mohamamd who said that the Allah had sent 1.24 lakh nabis before him on this earth. Those who do not accept this saying of the Prophet are ‘anti-Islam and anti-Prophet’. The one who was glorified as ‘Imam-e-Hind’, and one of the 1.24 lakh nabis by the Prophet, should we allow insult to him?