“The construction of the temple was an attack on secularism and the democracy of India,” chairman of AIMPLB Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rehmani said in a recent press statement
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has urged Muslims to abstain from participating in the celebrations of Ram Temple on January 22, calling it an act of ‘non-belief.’ Moreover, the organisation has also claimed that the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya is ‘non-secular’ and ‘anti-government.’
In an official statement issued on Saturday, January 13, Chairman of AIMPLB Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rehmani stated that the construction of the Ram temple is based on injustice, as the Supreme Court had accepted that there was no temple razed to build the Babri Mosque. Moreover, it was also accepted that there is no evidence suggesting Lord Ram was born at that particular place, he said.
However, turning a blind eye to the facts, the court gave its decision based on the assumptions of a sect of a majority community, whose claims were not even mentioned in the holy Hindu texts. “Indeed, the construction of the temple was an attack on secularism and the democracy of India,” he alleged.
Rehmani claimed that the decision was followed by the government’s support, and the mosque where Muslims worshipped for hundreds of years was replaced by a temple.
“Now, if the Prime Minister inaugurates the temple himself, it will be the death of secularism and justice,” he said, adding that, “promulgating the event across the country to reap political benefits is like rubbing salt on the wounds of the minority community.”
Answering if it is permissible for Muslims to raise ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans and light lamps on January 22, he said, “Muslims should understand that raising such slogans and lighting lamps is an act of ‘non-belief’.”
He also stated that there will be no objection if “our Hindu brothers want to light lamps in celebration of the construction of the Ram Temple. We respect Shri Ram along with all other Hindu deities as Islam teaches to respect prominent personalities of all religions”
However, Muslims believe that there is only one God, and thus, they cannot celebrate any other deity as it contradicts the sovereignty of that one God, he said.