By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: The clock ticks one and a man stands up and calls azan for Friday prayer at this 250-year-old Mughal period mosque. His voice is part consumed by the 300 sqm garden enclosure of the Safdarjang’s Tomb, of which the mosque is a part, and part by the heavy traffic on the road overlooking the mosque and connecting India’s premier hospital AIIMS and India Gate.
Like the muazzin’s voice, the Imam’s also could attract very few in the last 25 years for getting the mosque its full status – when the daily five-time prayer could be offered. Since Indira Gandhi as Prime Minister of India gave verbal order in 1984 allowing Juma prayer in the mosque, its Imam Maulana Nawabuddin Naqshbandi has made all efforts to convert it into a full mosque. He is yet to achieve his goal.
The mosque is on the right side of the main entrance of the premises of the Safdarjang’s Tomb. The tomb and mosque was built in 1754-55 by Nawab Shujauddaula for his father Mirza Muqim Abul Mansur Khan. Known as Safdarjang, Abul Mansur Khan was Governor of Oudh during the reign of Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah and Prime Minister during that of his successor Ahmad Shah.
After Independence in 1947 the door of the mosque was shut on the faithfuls in the neighbourhood, then dominated by Muslims. But like other parts of Delhi the mosque also witnessed bloodbath. Most of the local Muslims were forced to leave for Pakistan.
About 40 years later, a movement was launched by Maulana Nawabuddin Naqshbandi in 1983 for the restoration of the mosque. To press the authorities he led Juma prayers for the whole year on the road, a few feet from the mosque. His efforts bore fruit.
“On March 2, 1984 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, in the presence of her Cabinet colleagues and a delegation of Muslim leaders, announced opening of the mosque. Thousands of people came from parts of Delhi and some districts in Uttar Pradesh, Buland Shahar, Meerut and Kanpur,” Maulana Naqshbandi told
Indira Gandhi had passed the order in the presence of Muslim leaders including Syed Shahabuddin, Ibrahim Sulaiman Seth, Maulana Abdul Kareem Parekh, Syed Ahmad Hashmi, C K Jafar Sharieef, and Syed Aminul Hasan Rizvi. But they made a mistake.
“The big mistake the Muslim leaders committed was that they did not take the written copy of the PM’s order,” said the Imam Maulana Naqshbandi adding that this encouraged the officials of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the government body that takes care of monuments in the country, to create trouble.
“On the opening day thousands of people gathered from far and wide to offer prayer. But after some time, ASI officials began disturbing us. They were demanding written copy of the order which we didn’t have,” said the Imam.
But the Imam continued leading prayer in the mosque and ASI officials continued disturbing them. Sometimes ablution pots and sometimes prayer mats were stolen from the mosque.
In 1997 an ASI superintendent Dharam Vir Sharma locked the door of the mosque in the name of repair work.
“But we offered the namaz. We came and offered prayer peacefully without touching anything here. But he filed a case against us – 9 namazis and me. He accused us of beating government officials on duty, breaking into government building and ransacking it,” the Imam said adding that the allegations are false and that’s why the ASI officials are not appearing in the court to record their statements. They have no proof against these allegations.
People who come to offer prayer there include government officers, residents of Kidwai Nagar and Jor Bagh, as there is no other mosque within three kms.
Slide show:
There are 53 mosques in Delhi where prayer is not or partly allowed. They include Kotla Firozshah Mosque, Khairul Manazir Mosque, Qudsia Garden Mosque, Shah Alam Mosque and the Red Fort Mosque.
Is there any movement for restoration of such mosques?
“I have got tired, I have launched several movements and agitations but I got little support from the Muslim leadership,” the Imam says and admits that Muslim organizations and leaders are not paying attention to the issue because the government has heaped a mountain of problems for Muslims and it is still going up.
“The Wakf Board is not doing anything. I had urged them to pass a resolution and seek permission from the government to appoint Imams for these historic mosques, but they didn’t move,” he said.
[Photos by TwoCircles.net]