AYODHYA: In a sharp riposte to AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi’s statement in Bidar, Karnataka, that the Ayodhya mosque on 5acre land was ‘haraam’ (un-Islamic), secretary of the Ayodhya mosque Trust, Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF), Athar Hussain, said, “Owaisi is a Hyderabadi politician and his remarks are part of his political agenda. Also, no piece of land on this earth can be ‘haraam’, where namaz (prayer) is offered to Almighty Allah.”
Taking Owaisi head-on, Hussain said, “Owaisi comes from a region, which has not borne the struggle or felt the trauma of the first war of independence. It’s possible his ancestors never took part in the 1857 revolt against the British. We are from Awadh, which was the crucible of revolution and we are dedicating the IICF centre in Ayodhya in the memory of one of our greatest freedom fighters, Ahmadullah Shah, who liberated Faizabad from the British for at least a year. Is commemorating the martyrdom of Ahmadullah Shah by naming the centre after him, ‘haraam’ too?
Speaking at an event in Bidar on Tuesday, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, said the Ayodhya mosque was against Islamic tenets and so was offering prayers and donating for its construction.
Talking exclusively to TOI, Athar Husain said, “I don’t think the land where we do ‘sajda’ (bow in obeisance) to Almighty Allah land can be ‘haraam’. I don’t think our charity hospital, which will heal and serve hundreds of sick and infirm free of cost will be ‘haraam’. Feeding the hungry is part of our deen (religion) and our community kitchen that will feed 2,000 people every day cannot be un-Islamic.”
The greenfield mosque complex will house a library and museum will tell people about Islam, sacrifice of Muslims for India and raise concern about climate change, he said, adding “Owaisi should rethink his statement, leave aside his narrow political agenda and not call service to humanity as haraam.”