– Maaz Ahmed Javed (M.Tech. AMU)
The war between the mosque and the temple has heated up the new front. The controversy over Gyan Vapi Mosque and Kashi Vishwanath Temple has resurfaced. Power is pursuing its anti-Islamic agenda with utmost sincerity. Their plan is so clear and their preparation so solid that it seems that no obstacle is in their way to achieve their goal. It is obvious that there is no immediate action behind the ease and success in their mission. On the contrary, through long-term planning and silent efforts, preparations for this work have been going on for decades. These measures are not only raising a few miscellaneous issues but also presenting a new statements, like: Muslims entered this country as invaders and they oppressed and abused its people and their religion, morals, civilization; and imposed its culture on traditions, food and way of life. Demolished temples and aashrams; and built mosques, madrassas, tombs and khanquahs in their place. In the process, millions of locals were massacred. The statement concludes that the majority of Muslims in the country have converted to Islam as a result of forced conversions. Therefore, they should re-adopt Hindu Dharma through the process of ‘ghar waapsi’. Furthermore, whatever is against Hindu Dharma in Islamic civilization, Muslims should renounce it, such as cow slaughter, hijab, etc. Muslims should renounce Shariah observance even to the extent of personal law and adopt Hindu culture in their personal life through uniform civil code. The temples and aashrams which were demolished by the Muslim rulers should be rebuilt.
The name of the said mosque in Gyan Vapi area of Banaras is Alamgiri Mosque. Due to the suitability of the area, it has come to be known as Gyan Vapi Mosque. Evil elements claim that the foundation of this mosque has been laid by destroying a part of Kashi Vishwanath temple.
From some relics and evidences it seems more close to the opinion that this mosque was built by Sultan Hussain Shah Sharqi of East Jaunpur in 1458. In 1585, on the orders of Akbar, Raja Man Singh established the center of the Akbar’s religion ‘deen-e-Ilahi’, adjacent to this mosque. This mosque was the center for the local Muslims at the time of Akbar. The flowers and other symbols on the ancient wall adjoining the mosque, known as the wall of the ancient Vishwanath temple, are related to the religion of Akbar. Aurangzeb demolished this center in 1669 to eradicate the fitnah of ‘deen-e-Ilahi’ and rebuilt the mosque. Therefore, this mosque was named as Alamgiri Mosque. All other traditions related to this mosque are fabricated by the British. The most ridiculous thing about this is that the imaginary sketch of the ancient temple on the basis of which the mosque is claimed to have been built was prepared by a British man named James Princip on the verbal claims of the local Pandits.
One claim is that the statue of a cow adjacent to the mosque, called ‘Nandi’, faces the mosque,indicates that there is a ‘Shiv Ling’ in the mosque. However, the fact of this ‘Nandi’ is that it was installed here by the Raja of Nepal in 1858. Even then the Muslims opposed it but they did not succeed.
While the matter was under discussion, the issue of EidGah of Mathura also came to the fore. Similar claims were made about Qutb Minar, Taj Mahal, Jama Masjid Delhi, Telawali Masjid Lucknow, Tipu Sultan Mosque Mysore as well as about ten other mosques. This is not going to stop because the Sangh had long ago published a list of 30,000 mosques, madrassas and monasteries in its magazine ‘Rashtra Dharma’ which are claimed to have Hindu relics under them. And they are trying to get them.
Now what do we do in these situations? Our main task is to collect and bring to light the authentic history of the places that are being disputed, so that our future generations will not regret the distorted picture of our history. Furthermore, we have to continue the fight for the protection and rehabilitation of these places by using all available means. At the same time, we have to respond to the statements being made about these issues. Our people should be aware that the Muslim rulers, in spite of all their evil deeds, have never forcibly imposed Islamic traditions on their non-Muslim subjects. On the contrary, the crime of some of them is that they have turned their backs on Islamic rules for hai gaining the sympathy of their subjects.
The biggest secret of the vastness of the Muslim rule is that they generally made justice their basic principle. That is why during this period people embraced Islam on a large scale and helped Islam to establish its strong foundations in this country.
The legal battle over the issue continues, although the outcome is clear. Still, Muslims should do their best and trust in Allah Almighty.
