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Indian PM Narendra Modi inaugurating a Ram Mandir at the ruins of 16th century Babri Masjid
1-23-2024
On January 22, 2024, Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, ushered in an era of Hindu supremacy in India, by inaugurating a Ram Mandir (Ram’s Temple) at the ruins of 16th century Moghul era demolished Babri Masjid in northern city of Ayodhya, in Utter Pradesh. Hindus in India are hailing it as a sign of Hindu reawakening, liberation from centuries of foreign subjugation, including rule by Muslim dynasties, and as an emergence of first true Hindu nation.
"Lord Ram has arrived. Our Ram lalla (child) will no longer live in a tent, our Ram lalla will reside in this divine temple," Modi said, referring to earlier temporary structures which housed an old Ram idol.
"It marks the beginning of a new era," he told an invitation-only gathering. "A nation rising by breaking the mentality of slavery ... creates new history in this manner."
Most of the opposition parties did not attend the ceremony, and the main opposition Congress claimed that the inauguration had been turned into a political event.
Hindus claim the mosque was built on site that was supposedly the birthplace of a Hindu deity, Lord Ram.
The ownership of this site has been contentious for centuries dating back to the British Raj in India. It has been subjects of multiple legal disputes for the last several decades. Radical Hindus had demolished the mosque in 1992. In 2002, when Mr. Modi was the Chief Minister of the India’s largest province in Gujrat, a train compartment full of pilgrims returning from the temple site was allegedly set to fire in Godhra. This led to a widespread Hindu-Muslim communal riots in India, where more than 2000 mainly Muslims were killed, 223 missing, 2500 injured and widespread rape of Muslim women as the state police at times seemed to have been aiding and abetting the Hindu mob. In 2012, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) cleared Mr. Modi of complicity in communal riots.
In 2019, the Supreme Court handed the land over to the Hindus and allotment of a separate plot to the Muslims to build a mosque. Construction of the mosque is yet to begin.
This catapulted Mr. Modi and his right-wing Hindu party, Bhartiya Janata party (BJP) to lead the federal government to power. India going to the polls this May, Mr. Modi’s re-election as PM for the third term hinges on fulfilling the key election promise of building a grand temple – Ram Mandir – at the contentious site in Ayodhya.
Contrary to what we have been witnessing recently, Israel bombing every mosque in Gaza. Majority Hindus in India wielding their power over largest minority in India, the Muslims by demolishing their mosque to build a temple over it. The Qur’an prohibits anyone from destroying monasteries, churches, synagogues or mosques. Qur’an 22:39-40 says, “Permission is given to those who fight because they have been oppressed…For had it not been for God’s repelling some men by means of others, (all) monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, wherein the name of God is often mentioned, would certainly have been destroyed…”
Based on this verse of the Qur’an, great scholars such as Ibn Hazm hold that Muslims are even required to fight if necessary, to defend these non-Muslim places of worship from being destroyed.
The continued existence of numerous monasteries, sacred grounds and places of worship belonging to Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, Hindus, Buddhists, etc., in places that have once been or still are completely under Muslim rule shows the respect that Islam has for the rights of others to their respective faiths and places of worship.
This spirit can be seen in display in the letter of the first Caliph of Islam Abu Bakr Siddiq to the non-Muslims of Najran. In the letter, the Caliph wrote: “In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful. This is the written statement of God's slave Abu Bakr, the successor of Muhammad PBUH, the Prophet and Messenger of God. He affirms for you the rights of a protected neighbour, in yourselves, your lands, your religious community, your wealth, retainers, and servants, those of you who are present or abroad, your bishops and monks, and monasteries, and all that you own, be it great or small. You shall not be deprived of any of it, and shall have full control over it…”
In a similar vein, the treaty of the second Caliph of Islam, Umar ibn al-Khattab, with the people of Iliya of Jerusalem reinforces this fact. In it, he states that: “This is the security given by the slave of God, Umar, the Commander of the Faithful, to the people of Iliya: they are guaranteed the security in their persons, possessions, churches, crucifixes, and everyone within, whether sick or in good health, as well as everyone in their community. Their churches will not be occupied or demolished, nor will anything be taken from them: neither furnishings nor crucifixes or money. They will not be forced away from their religion or harmed because of it….”
As a result, since the era of the “Rightly guided Caliphs”, Jews and Christians have held their services in freedom and security.
The above ideals of Islam held by Muslims did not always end up in speeches or on paper. They were displayed by the rightly guided Muslim leaders when they conquered non-Muslim lands. For example, one of the Muslim caliphs, AbdulMalik, took the Church of Saint John from the Christians and made it part of a mosque. When Umar bin Abdul-Aziz succeeded him as the new Caliph, the Christians complained to him about what his predecessor had done to their church. Umar wrote to the governor that the portion of the mosque that was rightfully theirs be returned to them if they were unable to agree with the governor on a monetary settlement that would satisfy them.
The Wailing Wall in Jerusalem is known to historians to be one of the holiest places of worship in Judaism. It was completely buried under rubble and heaps of debris during the era of the Ottoman caliph, Sultan Sulayman I (1494-1566). When the caliph came to know of this, he ordered his governor in Jerusalem to remove all the rubble and debris, clean the area, restore the Wailing Wall, and make it accessible for Jews to visit.
Islamic laws guarantee the protection of places of worship of minorities that live under their rule. It is designed to promote inter-faith harmony and respect amongst people of all faiths.
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