Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad to Muslims: Give up claim on all disputed sites

ALLAHABAD: A day after the Supreme Court concluded the hearing and reserved its verdict in the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land title suit, the saint community on Thursday issued an appeal to Muslims, asking them to give up their claim on all other disputed sites as well, and help strengthen Hindu-Muslim brotherhood.

The president of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad ( ABAP ), Mahant Narendra Giri, said, “We appeal to Muslims to hand over the other disputed sites, including the disputed Mathura and Kashi mosques , to their Hindu brothers as these were constructed on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb after damaging temples and hence are ‘napak’ (impure) and of no use to Muslims. They should hand over these sites to Hindus to strengthen brotherhood between the two communities.”

Recently, at a meeting in Haridwar, Giri was re-elected as president of the religious body of 13 akharas of the country for five years .

In a statement issued on Thursday, Giri added, “Since a disputed site is considered impure, Muslims should not offer namaz at the other controversial sites also. And so, if our Muslim brothers decide to give up their claim on other disputed sites also, it would give a strong message of unity between the two communities.”

When asked what step ABAP would take if the Muslim community does not respond positively to its appeal, the Akhara Parishad president said, “We are only appealing to all our brothers and sisters from the Muslim community, from common man to religious heads, and are hopeful of a favourable response from them.”

“We will decide our further course of action as per the situation,” he added.