PM Modi Should Lay Foundation Stone For New Mosque Instead Of Macca Sharif Imam: All India Muslim Jamaat Chief

On 16 December, Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi, the President of the All India Muslim Jamaat, expressed dissatisfaction with the Sunni Central Waqf Board.

He said Muslims in India have lost trust in the board's ability to oversee the construction of a mosque on the 5 acres of land allocated by the Supreme Court in Dhannipur, Ayodhya, in place of the Babri Masjid.

Further, Maulana Shahabuddin suggested that instead of the Imam of Macca Sharif, the Sunni Waqf Board should invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lay the foundation stone for the proposed mosque.

He said that despite the Supreme Court's directive to allocate land for the mosque, no construction has commenced at the Dhannipur site.

"Despite having permission, the Sunni Waqf Board failed to put even a brick at the mosque site," he said.

In contrast, the Ram Mandir is complete, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to attend its consecration ceremony, he noted.

Expressing the disillusionment of Muslims with the Sunni Central Waqf Board, Maulana Shahabuddin proposed an alternative by suggesting that the foundation stone for the mosque should be laid in Ayodhya by Prime Minister Modi during his presence on 22 January.

The All India Muslim Jamaat, a religious organisation associated with the Barelvi movement of Sunni Islam, originated in Bareilly.

It recently endorsed the Union government's ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI) and encouraged Sunni Barelvi supporters to distance themselves from such extremist groups.