Jamiat gen secy calls Ayodhya verdict 'unjust'

Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JUH) general secretary Maulana Mahmood Madani on Sunday expressed "strong disagreement" with the Supreme Court's verdict in the Ayodhya case and claimed the ruling has shaken the faith of the minorities in the judiciary.

He also said the ruling was "unjust" and in "utter disregard" of truth and evidence.

Mahmood Madani's statement came a day after Jamiat president Maulana Arshad Madani said the verdict was not according to the organisation's expectations but asserted that the apex court ruling was "supreme".

Mahmood Madani, in a statement, expressed "strong disagreement" with the Supreme Court verdict and said the five judges of the apex court, despite admitting that the placing of idols and the destruction of the Babri mosque were serious violations of the rule of law, gave the land to "those who had committed such crimes".

"This is clear discrimination against the particular community which was not expected on part of the court. The judgment has shaken the faith of the minorities in the judiciary as they believe that they have been wronged," he said.

Mahmood Madani said when the country got freedom and the Constitution came into being, there was Babri mosque on the site.

"People had seen for generations that there was a masjid there and namaz was being offered there. In this case, it is the Supreme Court's responsibility to protect the rights of Muslims, their freedom of worship and freedom of religion guaranteed in the Constitution," he said.

That right includes their right to worship in the Babri mosque, he said.

Claiming that the verdict of the Supreme Court and the situation in the country showed it was a "testing time" for the Muslims, he appealed to the community to exercise patience and restraint.

Muslims should prepare their mindset for a far more testing situation instead of running after false consolation, he said.

Settling a fractious issue that goes back more than a century, the Supreme Court in a historic verdict on Saturday backed the construction of a Ram temple by a government trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya, and ruled that an alternative five-acre plot must be found for a mosque in the Hindu holy town.