Watch: Thousands turn up at Gyanvapi Masjid to offer Friday prayers

Today being the first Friday after the court’s order, thousands of Muslims turned up at the Gyanvapi Masjid to offer the Special Afternoon Prayers. Read More

Friday February 2, 2024 7:38 PM , ummid.com News Network

[Gyanvapi Masjid aerial view (File)]

Varanasi: Thousands of Muslims turned up at the Gyanvapi Masjid Friday February 02, 2024 to offer Special Weekly Prayers.

Gyanvapi Masjid is in news again after a Varanasi Court allowed Hindus to perform Puja in the sealed basement of the historic mosque.

The Varanasi court in its order Wednesday had asked the district administration to make arrangements within seven days for the Hindus to perform puja. Hindu worshippers however were allowed to perform puja on the same day.

Gyanvapi Masjid full to its capacity

Today being the first Friday after the court’s order, thousands of Muslims turned up at the Gyanvapi Masjid to offer the Special Afternoon Prayers.

The mosque was full long before the scheduled time of the Friday afternoon prayers and the mosque administration, Intezamiya, had to use loudspeakers and make announcements asking the waiting Muslims to go to other mosques and offer the prayers.

“Masjid is full to its capacity. Go to the nearby mosque and offer prayers”, Gyanvapi Masjid Intezamiya can be heard in a video appealing to Muslims waiting outside.

There were a heavy deployment of security personnel outside the Masjid.

Watch Video

Massive security arrangements in place ahead of the Friday prayers at the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi. pic.twitter.com/MNeAYnzELW
— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) February 2, 2024

No relief by HC

In a related development, Allahabad High Court Friday refused to give any relief to the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee and deferred the hearing on its petition seeking stay on the local court's order till February 06, 2024.

The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee had approached the Supreme Court of India Wednesday challenging the Varansi Court order allowing Hindus to perform puja in the mosque.

The Supreme Court of India declined to entertain the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee’s petition and asked it to go to the High Court.

Decades old case

Located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, Gyanvapi Masjid was built probably by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in 1678. Hindus claimed the mosque was built after demolishing a temple of Shiva.

After a court monitored survey back in May 2022, Hindu lawyers claimed ‘discovery’ of ‘Shivling’ in the historic masjid. The mosque management however claimed that what is being claimed as Shivling was actually a fountain.

Commenting on it, AIMIM President and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi had said that the ‘discovery’ of shivling in Gyanvapi Masjid was “textbook repeat of 1949 when in the similar manner the status of Babri Masjid was changed.

Consequently, Babri Masjid was demolished by the right-wing Hindu extremists, and the construction of a Ram Temple was facilitated by the order of Supreme Court of India.

Interestingly, the Supreme Court of India while granting the permission to build Ram Temple on the site where Babri Masjid stood till December 06, 1992 also observed that there was no proof to show the mosque was built after demolishing any mandir.

The mandir was however built and was opened for Hindu devotees in a controversial ceremony on January 22, 2024.

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