Starting from January 12, the Bharatiya Janata Party Minority Morcha plans to light diyas in prominent mosques and dargahs ahead of the consecration ceremony of Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya, scheduled on January 22.
National president of the BJP Minority Morcha, Jamal Siddiqui, stated they plan to light up diyas in shrines such as Delhi’s Jama Masjid and Nizamuddin Aulia Dargah.
Terming the Ram Mandir inauguration as ‘big day for all Indians’, Siddiqui encouraged Indian Muslims to take part in the celebrations and ‘respect’ the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb of the country.
“If we expect PM Modi to visit our shrines and pay his respects, then it is our responsibility as Muslims to celebrate the Ram Mandir inauguration. This is to respect the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb of the country,” he told The Quint.
“I will personally go and distribute diyas to the dargahs and shrines,” he added.
No such plans say Muslim organisations
However, members of the Jama Masjid and the Nizamuddin Dargah are unaware of the saffron party’s plans, adding no one has approached them yet.
Joint secretary of the Nizamuddin Auliya Dargah’s management committee Peerzada Altamash Nizami said holding political events is inappropriate in Islam.
“Anyone of any faith and political leaning is welcome to come and pray but we do not hold political events. Also, we have not been approached for any such lighting of lamps for the Ram Mandir,” The Quint quoted Nizami.
Interestingly, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief and MP Badruddin Ajmal recently advised Muslims to avoid any forms of travel between January 20 and 25. He has urged the followers of Islam to ‘stay at home and pray to Allah’ during the period, terming the BJP “their biggest enemy”.
Babri litigant Iqbal Ansari gets invitation
On January 5, Iqbal Ansari, one of the litigants in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case, accepted the invitation sent by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which is in charge of the construction of Ram Mandir.
In 2019, when the Supreme Court ruled that the disputed 450-year-old Babri Masjid site belonged to Hindu groups, Ansari said the Muslim community would respect the decision.
During PM Modi’s recent visit to the temple town, Ansari showered rose petals on his convoy. “He has come to our place. He is our guest and our Prime Minister,” Iqbal told PTI.
His father Hashim Ansari was the oldest litigant in the land dispute case.
Muslim poet gets invitation
Akbar Taj, a visually impaired Muslim bhajan singer and poet from Madhya Pradesh also received the invite. He said, “I visit the entire country but I am feeling very happy on being invited to Ayodhya and that too on behalf of Ramji Bhadracharya (Hindu spiritual leader). I am leaving many other programmes and going there.”
Taj has sung many bhajans and poems in praise of Lord Ram since childhood.
More than 60,00 people are expected to attend the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also be present.
