Muslim parties in Ayodhya case welcome SC verdict

Muslim parties in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute welcomed the Supreme Court verdict on the matter on Thursday, saying it "is in our favour".

Reacting to the verdict, Khaliq Ahmad Khan, the nominee of Maulana Mahfuzur Rahman -- one of the litigants in the title suit, said, "During the hearing on the tittle suit in the Supreme court, the other side always quoted the 1994 judgement that mosque is not an integral part of Islam. Now the court has made it clear that the 1994 judgement was related to the land acquisition...and that it has no connection with the tittle suit. We have achieved our goal as the Supreme Court will hear only the tittle suit."
Iqbaal Ansari, another litigant from the Sunni Central Waqf Board, welcomed the verdict and said, "The Supreme Court has made it clear that the case will be heard on merits, on the base of the claims of land ownership... and not on religious beliefs as the high court has done."
The 1994 verdict had said: "A mosque is not an essential part of the practice of the religion of Islam and namaz(prayer) by Muslims can be offered anywhere, even in open."
Haji Mahboob, another litigant, said, "The verdict of the apex court is in our favour."