Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, made an emotional plea to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to engage with the Muslim community amid escalating communal tensions related to mosque surveys across India. During Friday prayers, Bukhari urged Muslim youth to remain patient.
Urgent Appeal for Dialogue
Bukhari, speaking at the Jama Masjid, appealed to PM Modi: “You (PM Modi) should do justice to the chair you are sitting on. Win the hearts of Muslims. Stop the miscreants who are trying to create tensions and affecting the atmosphere of the country.”
In his emotional address, he added, “We are standing in a situation worse than the one we were in 1947. No one knows which way the country will go in the future.”
Bukhari called for immediate action, proposing a dialogue involving three Hindus and three Muslims to address the rising tensions. His appeal followed violent clashes in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, related to a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, which had been the site of unrest on November 24.
The survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, prompted by claims that the mosque was built over a Hindu temple, led to violent confrontations. On November 24, during the Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) examination, stone-pelting resulted in four deaths and several injuries, including locals and officials.
Call for National Reflection
Bukhari further expressed concerns about surveys being conducted at other religious sites, including the Ajmer Sharif Dargah, urging the government to reconsider their approach. He said, “ASI has told us that we have no intention of surveying Delhi Jama Masjid, but the government should seriously think about the survey being done in Sambhal-Ajmer and other places. All these things are not good for the country. I only say that moments committed mistakes, centuries got punished… how long will the country run like this. How long will Hindu Muslim, temple mosque continue?”
Multiple petitions regarding mosque surveys are pending in various courts. In one such case, a Rajasthan court issued notices to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) after a petition claimed that the Ajmer Sharif Dargah was constructed over a Shiva temple. The case, filed by Vishnu Gupta of Hindu Sena, alleges the dargah’s original structure was a Hindu temple.