Muslim bodies reject Shia Waqf Board's SC affidavit on Ayodhya issue

City-based Muslim organisations on Thursday rejected the draft proposal submitted in the Supreme Court by the Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board on resolving the Ayodhya issue, terming it as an "attempt" to create a "rift" between Shia and Sunni communities.

Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board on Monday proposed relinquishing its right over the disputed land in Ayodhya, and building a 'masjid-e-aman" in Lucknow to resolve the Ram janmabhoomi-Babri masjid tangle. A draft for resolving the issue, prepared by the Shia Waqf Board, was submitted in the Supreme Court on November 18.

Shia Sunni Ittehad Forum (SSIF) and Awami Vikas Party (AVP) on Thursday held a joint press conference to oppose the proposal and the affidavit.

"Last week one of the members of the UP Shia Waqf Board filed an affidavit in Supreme Court suggesting that a Ram temple be built in Ayodhya and a mosque in Lucknow. This statement has created an unnecessary rift between Shia and Sunni communities," AVP national president Shamsherkhan Pathan said.

Pathan said the leaders as well as religious heads of Shias and Sunnis have rejected the affidavit in one voice.

"Even Shia clerics are of the opinion that either the Babri masjid be built in Ayodhya or let the Supreme Court decide the matter," he said.

Maharashtra Waqf Board member and Shia cleric Maulana Zaheer Abbas Rizvi said the Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board has no "locus standi" in filing such affidavit.

"They are making such baseless arguments only to please the BJP. We still feel that the mosque be built in Ayodhya or let the court decide the matter," he said.

Echoing Rizvi, Shia businessman Safdar Karmali said some people are trying to create a "rift" between Shias and Sunnis who are like "brothers".

Advocate Abbas Kazmi said Shia and Sunni communities are on the same page on the Ayodhya issue.