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Babri Masjid Backers Warn Against Hindu Temple Construction
WASHINGTON (IslamOnline) - The All India Babri Masjid Action Committee (AIBMAC) Sunday warned extremist Hindu organizations not to announce any date for the construction of a Ram temple at a disputed site in Ayodhya.
An AIBMAC meeting in Lucknow declared that Muslims would “physically prevent construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya and the consequences of starting temple construction would prove even more dangerous than the fallout of the mosque demolition in December 1992.”
AIBMAC convener, advocate Zafaryab Jilani said, “Muslims certainly do not want a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya and Muslims are an important part of this country. How can the Prime Minister talk on behalf of the entire nation when 200 million Muslims are against the issue.”
The AIBMAC also appealed to all secular parties, including those in the ruling National Democratic Alliance, to prevent the announcement of the date of the temple construction.
“If the Vishwa Hindu Parishad [VHP] announces the date, there is bound to be a reaction among Muslims and, this time, we will not appeal for peace or restraint and the government will be solely responsible for the consequences,” said Jilani.
AIBMAC leader Mohammed Azam Khan said, “If they agree to restore the 1947 status, we are ready for talks.”
The AIBMAC rejected VHP demands to give up claim on the disputed site and said that Lord Ram may be god for one community but not for other communities.
The VHP, on the other hand, claimed that, “no power in the world could stop construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.”
VHP president Ashok Singhal said that they were ready for negotiations only if, “they [Muslims] came with an open mind and sufficient evidence to prove that a mosque existed at the disputed site before 1528, when Babur invaded India and broke temples.”
“Babur was an invader, and trespassers cannot stake claims. There was a Ram temple at the site before Babur demolished it and we are simply rebuilding the temple. We are not going to build a temple on any ones mercy. No one can stop temple construction,” he said.
While the fact remains that there is no archaeological evidence of any temple, let alone a Ram temple, being there before the construction of the mosque.
In New Delhi, Javed Habib, a former member of AIBMAC, has floated a new party called Babri Masjid Action Committee (International) to counter Vishwa Hindu Parishad (International) on Sunday. He said that 25 notable persons attended the meeting.
He said that his organization would hold a conference in New Delhi on February 1, to mark the anniversary of the opening of the locks of the mosque and its subsequent occupation by Hindu extremists.
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