Mosque at Taj Prayer petition prevention

  • | Saturday | 17th November, 2018

“I am 56 years old and I have been offering namaz there for the past 45 years,” he said. They also locked the ‘vazu tank’ where namazis clean themselves up before offering prayers. New Delhi: On November 3, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) barred local Muslims from offering namaz at the mosque in the Taj Mahal 's premises on all days except Fridays. The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 allows Muslims to use the mosque for worship. Their contention was that many Muslim tourists come from far and should be allowed to pray at the mosque.

New Delhi: On November 3, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) barred local Muslims from offering namaz at the mosque in the Taj Mahal 's premises on all days except Fridays. ASI officials claimed they were merely implementing a Supreme Court order. They also locked the ‘vazu tank’ where namazis clean themselves up before offering prayers. Even the imam and staff of the mosque have been asked to show up only on Fridays. Imam Syed Sadiq Ali, whose family has been leading prayers at the mosque for several decades for a token remuneration of Rs 15 per month, said he was surprised and disappointed by the order.When a group of local Muslims defied the ban on November 13 and offered prayers, ASI officials pasted a gazette notification at the eastern and western gates of the Taj Mahal, specifying there is permission for namaz only on Fridays.When asked, superintending archaeologist, ASI (Agra circle), Vasant Swarankar, refused to get into details of the decision, but said it was “as per the order of the apex court”. He said, “Namaz can only be offered on Fridays and that, too, by local residents only.”The apex court had dismissed a plea by local Muslims challenging the district administration’s order of January 25 that barred non-residents of Agra from offering Friday prayers at the mosque. Their contention was that many Muslim tourists come from far and should be allowed to pray at the mosque. But a bench of Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said that the Taj Mahal was one of the seven wonders of the world and people can offer their prayers at other mosques too. But there was no comment from the apex court on local Muslims and if they should be stopped from prayers on week days.All this had been triggered by the order of then Agra district magistrate Gaurav Dayal barring non-resident Muslims from offering Friday prayers in the mosque on grounds of security. The authorities then started asking visitors to carry an ID to ensure only locals get inside the mosque.The mosque itself is made of red sandstone and was built by Ustad Isa Shirazi, the famed Persian architect, in 1632. The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 allows Muslims to use the mosque for worship. ‘Padshahnama’, by Abdul Hamid Lahori, talks of how Shah Jahan dedicated the income of 30 villages of Akbarabad (as Agra was called then) for maintenance of Taj and its mosque. He appointed himself the mutawalli (custodian) of the endowment.The Taj Mahal Masjid Intezamia Committee, a panel of local residents formed to protest their interests more than 30 years ago, says there has been namaz at the mosque since its inception. Committee president Syed Ibrahim Hussain Zaidi said there never was a controversy around the fact before this. “I am 56 years old and I have been offering namaz there for the past 45 years,” he said. Sadiq Ali, appointed by ASI as imam in 2004, added: “Until November 3, I used to reach the mosque at 12 noon every day and lead three prayers before sunset. Then the ASI asked us to show up only on Fridays.”

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