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New Delhi: The Shia Wakf Board joined the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid tussle, filing an affidavit at the Supreme Court where it suggested the temple be built at the disputed site and the mosque be located at a reasonable distance in a Muslim-dominated area.
The dispute is centered on a plot of land in Ayodhya that Hindus say was the birthplace of their god Ram. The spot is where the Babri Masjid stood, before being demolished by Hindu mobs in 1992.
The case is in court with the Muslim side being represented by the Sunni and Shia Waqf Boards.
The Shia board said, in an affidavit filed recently, the Sunni board has no stake in the case since the mosque was a Shia property. “And only Shia central Waqf board, UP, is entitled to negotiate and arrive at a peaceful settlement with other remaining stake holders,” it said.
The affidavit said that proximity of “place of worships should be avoided in as much as both denominations using loudspeakers tend to disturb religious performance of each other often leading to conflicts and acrimony”.
“And to bring a quietus to the issue, masjid can be located in a Muslim-dominated area at a reasonable distance from the most revered place of birth of Ram.”
The affidavit follows on a decision by the Shia board late last month to stake claim to the Ayodhya site.
“The board has authorised me to pursue the case, which we lost in 1945 to Sunni Waqf Board because of the sloppy manner in which it was dealt by our then council,” Shia Waqf Board chief Waseem Rizvi told Hindustan Times on July 28.
In its affidavit, the board made it clear that it favours a peaceful solution to the dispute.
