Page 3 - Mosques

Shahi Imam successor: Investiture ceremony underway at Jama Masjid

A 'dastarbandi (investiture)' ceremony during which Jama Masjid's incumbent Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari will declare his son "as his successor" is currently underway in the courtyard of the grand mosque. The ceremony at the Mughal-era mosque built by Emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th century is expected to last more than an hour. Several 'ulemas (Islamic scholars)' are attending the ceremony for which the mosque -- a veritable symbol of old Delhi or Shahjehanabad and a celebrated landmark -- has been decked up. Some congratulatory posters bearing images of the Shahi Imam and his son have been put up along the street running in front of the mosque, whose architecture draws awe from both locals and foreign tourists. The ceremony involves tying a 'dastarbandi (turban)' on the head, according to the old 'riwaz (tradition)' associated with the investiture, the official said. Syed Shaban Bukhari (29) was anointed as the mosque's Naib Imam in a 'dastarbandi' ceremony in November 2014, the

Uttarakhand mosque, madrasa demolition: Understanding Nazul & Waqf lands

Nazul land belongs to the state, Waqf land constitutes properties permanently dedicated for religious purposes under Muslim law

Delhi cops on alert after court allows Hindus to offer prayers at Gyanvapi

The advisory stated that some elements might try to dissipate the atmosphere. The advisory also warned all the police stations to watch the activities of those involved in major protests

Court to hear plea seeking ASI survey of Gyanvapi basements on Feb 15

A Varanasi court on Tuesday fixed February 15 for the hearing of a petition seeking a survey of all closed basements in the Gyanvapi mosque complex by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). According to the petition, there are "secret cellars" inside the basements and it is necessary to survey them to reveal the entire truth of the Gyanvapi mosque. Lawyer Madan Mohan Yadav said acting District Judge Anil Kumar has fixed February 15 as the next date of hearing on the petition. The petitioner, Rakhi Singh, is a founding member of the Vishwa Vedic Sanatan Sangh and is one of the parties in the Maa Shringar Gauri case, which led to the survey of the complex by the ASI. In the petition, she asked for all closed cellars in the Gyanvapi mosque complex, adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple, to be surveyed by the ASI, her advocate Anupam Dwivedi said. A map of the closed basements has also been included in the petition.

ASI reveals records on demolition of Mathura's Keshavdev temple: RTI

Archaeological Survey of India's response to RTI query cites 1920 gazette confirmed the dismantling of Keshavdev temple for the construction of Aurangzeb's mosque

HC to hear Muslim side's plea as order allows Hindu prayers in Gyanvapi

Another Hindu side lawyer, Anupam Dwivedi said that an application for the survey of the basements that are left has been submitted to the court, regarding which the hearing will be held tomorrow

Gyanvapi case: Varanasi court allows Hindu side to pray in mosque basement

Gyanvapi case: The Hindu side's advocate Madan Mohan Yadav said that the Varanasi court has allowed Hindus to worship in the "Vyas ji ka tahkhana" located in the Gyanvapi complex

Gyanvapi management moves HC on ruling to allow 'puja' in mosque's basement

The Gyanvapi management committee moved the Allahabad High Court on Thursday challenging a Varanasi court order that has allowed Hindu prayers before idols in a cellar of the mosque. The counsel for the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee, S F A Naqvi, said they have requested an urgent hearing in the matter. The mosque committee moved the high court within hours of the Supreme Court refusing to hear its plea against the Varanasi district court's order and asking it to approach the Allahabad High Court. In the appeal filed before the high court, it has been pleaded that the Hindu side's suit itself is barred by order 7 rule 11 of the Civil Procedure Code, Naqvi said. The plea has also alleged that the main purpose behind filing the suit was to create a controversy over the functional Gyanvapi mosque where regular namaz is offered. A caveat was also filed by the Hindu side regarding the matter. The Varanasi court ruled on Wednesday that a Hindu priest can perform prayers before the

Gyanvapi built on remains of temple: Petitioners' lawyer cites ASI survey

The ASI survey report on the Gyanvapi complex here suggests that the mosque was built on remains of a pre-existing temple, claimed counsel for the Hindu side Vishnu Shankar Jain on Thursday. Jain told reporters that copies of the survey report consisting of 839 pages were made available to the parties concerned by the court late Thursday evening. The survey report makes it clear that the mosque was built on remains of a pre-existing temple by demolishing it in the past, he said. He also claimed that the survey report has sufficient evidence of existence of a temple over which the mosque was built. A total of 11 people, including from both the Hindu and the Muslim sides, earlier in the day applied in the court to get the ASI survey report on the Gyanvapi complex adjoining the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

Will be on verge of victory: Hindu advocate on ASI report in Gyanvapi case

Vishnu Jain told ANI that the ASI survey report will clarify whether it is a 'Shivling' or fountain

HC notice to Centre, Karnataka govt on madrasa inside ASI protected mosque

The High Court of Karnataka has ordered issuance of notices to the state and central governments on a PIL petition alleging that a Madrasa was being illegally run in the premises of an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected mosque in Srirangapatna in Mandya district. A division bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit heard the petition by Abishek Gowda on Wednesday and issued notices to the respondents to file their objections and adjourned the hearing. The petitioner alleged that the Madrasa inside the Juma Masjid in Srirangapatna had damaged the original structure with the construction of structural alterations, demolition of compound, construction of toilets, destruction of ancient carvings besides cooking and consumption of food daily. "All the above acts are totally illegal and a violation of Section 7, Rule 7 & 8 of the Ancient Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains Act and Rules," he claimed. The petitioner further submitted that .

Gyanvapi case: HC rejects all five suits challenging maintainability plea

The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday dismissed all five suits challenging the maintainability of a civil suit pending before a Varanasi court seeking restoration of a temple at the site where the Gyanvapi mosque exists. Pronouncing the judgment, Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal said the suit filed in 1991 before a Varanasi court is maintainable and not barred by the Places of Religious Worship Act, 1991. The court directed a comprehensive survey of the Gyanvapi mosque site. The petitions filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC) and the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board had also challenged a Varanasi court order of April 8, 2021 to conduct a comprehensive survey of the Gyanvapi mosque. The AIMC, which looks after the management of Gyanvapi mosque located adjacent to the Kashi Vishwanath temple at Varanasi, has challenged the maintainability of a suit filed before a Varanasi court, wherein the Hindu petitioners have sought restoration of a temple at the site where the .

Construction of proposed mosque in Ayodhya likely to begin in May

Construction of a proposed mosque in Ayodhya mandated by the Supreme Court in its Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case verdict is expected to begin in May, people associated with the project have said. The Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation Trust, which is tasked with building the mosque in Ayodhya's Dhannipur, also intends to appoint in-charges in different states starting in February to raise funds. Settling a fractious issue that goes back more than a century, the Supreme Court in a historic verdict on November 9, 2019, backed the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya and ruled that an alternative plot be found for a mosque in the Hindu holy town. The construction of the mosque is yet to begin even as the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple is expected to take place on January 22, 2024. Chief trustee of the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation Zufar Farooqui said, "The final design of the mosque is likely to be ready by mid-February and it will then go for ...

Gyanvapi mosque complex: ASI may file survey report in Varanasi court today

On the previous date, the court had given the ASI 10 days' time on November 30 and ordered it to file the report within the "provided time."

Brother of judge who ordered video survey of Gyanvapi provided security

Security has been provided to Civil Judge Dinesh Kumar Diwakar whose brother Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar heard the Shringar Gauri-Gyanvapi case in Varanasi on his request, police said on Sunday. According to Superintendent of Police Ashok Kumar Meena, Judge Dinesh Kumar Diwakar in a letter to him said that his elder brother Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar had passed an order to conduct videography survey of Varanasi's Gyanvapi complex in 2022. After the order was passed, Judge Ravi Kumar Diwakar had received a hand-written threat letter in June, following which nine police personnel were deployed for his security. The High Court had earlier issued orders for ensuring security for his entire family, Judge Dinesh Kumar Diwakar said in his letter to the SP. He said a Popular Front of India (PFI) agent was arrested near his residence in Lucknow a few days ago, adding that he needed immediate security here. The SP said police security has been provided to Judge Dinesh Kumar Diwakar at his reside

'China expanding its crackdown on mosques to regions outside Xinjiang'

The Chinese government has expanded its campaign of closing mosques to regions other than Xinjiang, where for years it has been blamed for persecuting Muslim minorities, according to a Human Rights Watch report released Wednesday. Authorities have closed mosques in the northern Ningxia region as well as Gansu province, which are home to large populations of Hui Muslims, as part of a process known officially as consolidation, according to the report, which draws on public documents, satellite images and witness testimonies. Local authorities also have been removing architectural features of mosques to make them look more Chinese," part of a campaign by the ruling Communist Party to tighten control over religion and reduce the risk of possible challenges to its rule. President Xi Jinping in 2016 called for the Sinicization of religions, initiating a crackdown that has largely concentrated on the western region of Xinjiang, home to more than 11 million Uyghurs and other Muslim ...

China expanding crackdown on mosques to regions outside Xinjiang: Report

The Chinese government has expanded its campaign of closing mosques to regions other than Xinjiang, where for years it has been blamed for persecuting Muslim minorities, according to a Human Rights Watch report released Wednesday. Authorities have closed mosques in the northern Ningxia region as well as Gansu province, which are home to large populations of Hui Muslims, as part of a process known officially as consolidation, according to the report, which draws on public documents, satellite images and witness testimonies. Local authorities also have been removing architectural features of mosques to make them look more Chinese," part of a campaign by the ruling Communist Party to tighten control over religion and reduce the risk of possible challenges to its rule. President Xi Jinping in 2016 called for the Sinicization of religions, initiating a crackdown that has largely concentrated on the western region of Xinjiang, home to more than 11 million Uyghurs and other Muslim ...

Gyanvapi row: ASI seeks 15 days from court for survey report submission

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) sought 15 more days from a court here on Friday to submit its report of a scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex. According to the Centre's counsel, Amit Srivastava, the ASI has moved an application in the court of Varanasi District Judge A K Vishvesh, stating that though the survey work has been completed, the technical reports are still awaited and therefore, the additional time has been sought. The court will hear the matter later in the day, Srivastava said. On November 2, the ASI told the court that it had "completed" the survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex, but it may take some more time to compile the report, along with the details of the equipment used in the survey work, following which additional time till November 17 was granted for the submission of the document. On October 5, the court had granted four more weeks to the ASI and said the duration of the survey would not be extended beyond this.

Israel-Hamas war: More terror bases uncovered in mosques, universities

During the operation, Israeli forces confiscated dozens of weapons, combat equipment and operative plans of the terrorist organization Hamas

Gyanvapi survey: Varanasi court gives additional time to ASI till Nov 17

A Varanasi court on Thursday gave additional time till November 17 to the ASI to complete scientific survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex here and submit its report. Accepting the request of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), District Judge A K Vishvesh passed the order, Central government counsel Amit Srivastava said. The court was informed that the ASI has completed its survey, but it may take some more time for compiling the report along with the details of the equipment used in the survey work and requested for additional time, Srivastava said. On October 5, the court granted four more weeks to the ASI and said that the duration of the survey will not be extended.