Asaduddin Owaisi’s Appeal to Muslim Youth Sparks Controversy Ahead of Ram Temple Inauguration
In the lead-up to the highly anticipated inauguration of the Ram Temple, tensions have escalated following a recent appeal by Asaduddin Owaisi to Muslim youth. Owaisi urged them to closely monitor the activities of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre, warning against potential threats to mosques.
Just days after Owaisi’s call for vigilance, Peethadhishwar Dhirendra Shastri of Bageshwar Dham strongly criticized the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief. Shastri dismissed Owaisi’s remarks as an expression of “fear” and emphasized that the intention is not to build temples on mosques but to reconstruct them.
“This just shows his fear. We don’t want to build temples on masjids but want to reconstruct temples. If he has this fear then I pray this fear should remain inside him,” quoted news agency ANI.
Owaisi’s appeal, delivered on January 1, urged Muslim youth to remain vigilant about the Centre’s actions, particularly emphasizing the need for mosques in the country to remain inhabited. Referring to the historical Babri Masjid, Owaisi highlighted the loss of control over a place where the holy Quran had been recited for the past 500 years.
“Young people, I am telling you, we have lost our Masjid and you are seeing what is being done there. Don’t you have pain in your hearts?,” Owaisi expressed at a program in Bhavani Nagar.
The AIMIM chief further emphasized the potential conspiracy surrounding several mosques, including the Sunheri Masjid (Golden Mosque) in Delhi. He urged young Muslims to stay alert, maintain unity, and ensure the continuous occupancy of mosques.
Responding to the unfolding controversy, Peethadhishwar Dhirendra Shastri asserted that Lord Ram should not be a topic of politics. Shastri criticized the politicization of the Ram Temple consecration ceremony, deeming it “idiocy.” He urged people to vote in the national interest and emphasized that the temple’s construction is not driven by casteism but by the faith of all Ram devotees.
Regarding the matters of Gyanyapi and Mathura Janamanbhoomi, Shastri dismissed the need for opinions, citing existing laws and the Supreme Court of India. He highlighted the healing of historical wounds from Mughal attacks on Hindu temples.
Shastri, who has received an invitation to the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple, declared the event to be more special than the festival of Diwali. As the nation anticipates this historic event, the intersection of faith, politics, and identity continues to shape the discourse surrounding the Ram Temple inauguration.