During the Friday sermon at the Shahi Jama Masjid, Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari, broke into tears and made a special appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to a report by News 18, the Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid remarked that the situation for Muslims in India today is worse than it was in 1947, the year of independence. He questioned, “Where is the country headed? No one knows.”
Imam Bukhari urged Prime Minister Modi to engage in dialogue with the Muslim community. He suggested that the Prime Minister invite three representatives each from the Hindu and Muslim communities for discussions. He said, “Mr. Modi, enough is enough. From the position you hold, deliver justice and win the hearts of Muslims. Small elements are disrupting the country’s harmony—stop them. I appeal to my youth to remain patient.”
The Imam’s appeal comes in the wake of violence in Sambhal over the survey of a Jama Masjid there, which resulted in four deaths. Additionally, petitions regarding mosque surveys have been filed in courts in various parts of the country.
Syed Ahmed Bukhari noted that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had assured them there was no plan to survey Delhi’s Jama Masjid. However, he urged the government to seriously consider the implications of surveys being conducted in places like Sambhal, Ajmer, and elsewhere. He remarked, “These actions are not beneficial for the country. Moments of error have cost us centuries of punishment… How much longer will the nation continue like this? How much longer will the Hindu-Muslim, temple-mosque issues persist?”
It is worth noting that violence erupted in Sambhal following a district court’s order to survey the Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid in the Kot Garhi area on November 24. The violence led to the death of four individuals and injuries to several others, leaving the district in a tense state.
