Noted Shia cleric and vice-president of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Maulana Kalbe Sadiq has said that the Muslim community has much to gain by withdrawing claim over the controversial 2.77 acres Babri Masjid land in Ayodhya. He said the religion teaches its believers giving rather than claiming.
“By giving away a piece of land, the community can win millions of hearts,” he told Times of India. Such a generous step would boost the Hindu-Muslim ties across the country, he added. On Sunday, Maulana Sadiq also appealed the Muslim community to approach the matter of Ayodhya land dispute with an ‘open-mind’.
He repeated that the Supreme Court is the ultimate authority to decide the rightful claimant. However, the senior AIMPLB member said Muslims should be prepared to welcome the judicial verdict “even it goes against the community”.
Maulana Sadiq’s remark came in the backdrop of the stance showed by Uttar Pradesh’s Shia Waqf Board before the apex court. The board in 9 August affidavit said that the Babri mosque could be shifted away from the “revered place of birth of Maryada Purushottam Sri Ram.” It said the mosque could be relocated to the nearby Muslim-dominated locality.
On Friday, the Supreme Court had said that it would initiate the final set of hearing in the land dispute case from 5 December with no adjournments.
