Hindu order runs India': Court declares another medieval mosque a temple

The Madhya Pradesh High Court ruled that the medieval Bhojshala complex at Dhar contains a temple dedicated to a Hindu goddess rather than a mosque. The Kamal Maula mosque had been used for decades by Mohammad Rafiq, a muezzin, and by his family before Indian independence. After the ruling, the monument became out of bounds for Muslims, including Rafiq. Following the decision, the site saw saffron flags, Hindu worship, and a temporary idol installed by local activists under heavy police deployment. Similar claims have been made across India by Hindutva activists that mosques were built over earlier temples, including disputes involving the Taj Mahal’s Mughal origins.

"The Madhya Pradesh High Court, hearing a petition claiming a temple predated the mosque at the site, ruled on Friday that the medieval complex is a temple dedicated to a Hindu goddess. On Sunday, the 13th-14th century monument was awash in saffron flags associated with Hindutva, the far-right Hindu supremacist movement as young men danced to religious tunes, filming the rituals on their phones. Local activists installed a temporary idol of the goddess as Hindu worshippers gathered in large numbers amid heavy police deployment."

"For decades, the Kamal Maula mosque in Dhar, in central India's Madhya Pradesh state, has been like a second home for 78-year-old Mohammad Rafiq. Rafiq has been the muezzin, who calls Muslims to prayer, at the mosque for 50 years. Before him, his grandfather Hafiz Naziruddin used to lead the prayers even before India gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947."

"But the mosque in the Bhojshala complex, a protected monument of archaeological importance, is out of bounds now for Rafiq and other Muslims in Dhar. The Madhya Pradesh High Court ruled that the medieval complex is a temple dedicated to a Hindu goddess, and the site’s status changed for local worshippers."

"Far-right Hindutva activists have made similar claims that a given mosque was built atop a temple across India, emboldened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rise to power in 2014. Even the Taj Mahal, one of the world's seven wonders, could not escape the Hindutva crusade to find temple origins beneath Islamic-era monuments. Though the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum rather than a mosque, its 17th-century Mughal roots have also made it a subject of dispute."

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