Qatar Government-Owned Al Jazeera Cites Select Cases Of Mosque Demolition For Road Widening To Claim PM Modi Wishes To Demolish All Mosques 

Qatar government-owned media house Al Jazeera published a column on Monday (3 April), written by Sara Ather, who introduces herself as a New Delhi-based architect. 

Quite outrageously, the article and its headline claim that “Modi wants to demolish India’s mosques".

To make its case, the column has cited two incidents from Uttar Pradesh in the last six months where mosques were razed for a road-widening project and building a highway, respectively.

The first case cited is from Prayagraj district while another from Muzaffarnagar district.

The rest of the article repeats several of the most slanderous but discredited narratives peddled by Communists and Islamists around India’s internal conflict in the last 10 years including the threat of an impending genocide of Muslims in India.

The signs, the author claims, are “armed Hindu mobs” entering “Muslim neighbours” chanting “obscene slogans” and “cultural cleaning” through renaming of Mughal-era monuments by the government. 

Are mosques the only religious structures being demolished for infrastructure projects?

Are mosques being particularly targeted for demolition in infrastructure works? Not at all. Hindu temples are frequently razed by the government if they come in the way of road-widening or other projects. 

For instance, to widen a road in Ayodhya, which is considered the site of birth of Lord Ram who is revered by millions in India, the government demolished more than two dozen temples, including old temples, from Ram Path to Naya Ghat. This happened only three months ago. 

Last month, the Delhi Development Authority, which comes under the Delhi government, demolished parts of an old Shiva temple for alleged encroachment. 

These are just some of the recent examples of demolition of temples for road projects. If we apply the Al Jazeera columnist’s argument here, it would seem that PM ‘Modi wants to demolish India’s temples’ too. Clearly, the author’s argument makes no sense.

It also be remembered that a Rajya Sabha member and senior leader of the Aam Aadmi Party, an arch-rival of the BJP, accused the BJP of being “anti-Hindu” last year, by claiming that BJP was planning to destroy 53 temples in residential societies in the name of encroachment.

Is Saudi Arabia, the home of Mecca and Medina, also doing “cultural cleansing” of Muslims by demolishing mosques?

Saudi Arabia has ruthlessly destroyed religious shrines of heritage value for infrastructure development. As per Islamic Heritage Research Foundation in London, Saudi destroyed more than 98 per cent of its historical and religious sites between 1985 and 2014, Time magazine reported. 

Among the demolished structures were the houses of Islam founder Mohammed’s first wife Khadijah (which were built into public toilets) and of Islam’s first caliph Abu Bakr (turned into Hilton hotel).

If we apply the argument of Al Jazeera’s columnist here, one may as well claim that Saudi too is indulging in cultural cleansing of Muslims by destroying mosques and a genocide is imminent there as well.

Are Hindu religious processions a sign of genocide of Muslims?

This is an oft-repeated argument of the Communists and Islamists and their allies who claim they are Liberals that Hindu processions are increasingly ‘provoking’ Muslims by entering “Muslims areas”.

They also relate this imaginary trend to the rise of the BJP in the last two general elections.

This is far from the truth.

One, the very concept of ‘Muslim areas’, spoken of as if they are no-go routes for Hindus, goes against secularism and communal harmony.

Two, if Hindus play music or so-called “Hindutva pop” when they cross the mosques, Muharram and Tazia processions are known to do worse.

In the latter, participants are seen brandishing swords, and singing outright communal songs like ‘jo bhi aya saamne usko cheerenge aur phadenge, hum deen ka jhanda gaadenge’ (whoever comes in the way of establishing the flag of Islam will be torn apart) while crossing Hindu temples.

Watch here, here and here.

It is a well-documented fact that fanatics in the Muslim community indulging in violence over Hindu processions playing music when crossing mosques has been a centuries-old phenomenon and a key reason for communal strife between the two communities.

It is not that Hindus have started a new tradition of taking out street processions on select festivals or accompanying those with music.

On the other hand, it is the attack on such processions for the Muslim insistence on stoppage of music outside mosques that has remained a constant feature for more than a century. 

In his seminal book, Pakistan, or the Partition of India, Dr BR Ambedkar noted that Hindus and Muslims rioted, which they did often, mainly over two issues: playing of music by Hindus in the neighbourhood of mosques or slaughter of cows by the Muslims.

Ambedkar criticised the Muslims on both counts. He said that Muslims in India insist on stoppage of music outside mosques for no other reason except that the Hindus claim a right to it.

He wrote,

“…noticeable among the Muslims is the spirit of exploiting the weaknesses of the Hindus. If the Hindus object to anything, the Muslim policy seems to be to insist upon it and give it up only when the Hindus show themselves ready to offer a price for it by giving the Muslims some other concessions…"

“Another illustration of this spirit of exploitation is furnished by the Muslim insistence upon cow-slaughter and the stoppage of music before mosques. Islamic law does not insist upon the slaughter of the cow for sacrificial purposes and no Musalman, when he goes to Haj, sacrifices the cow in Mecca or Medina".

"But in India they will not be content with the sacrifice of any other animal. Music may be played before a mosque in all Muslim countries without any objection. Even in Afghanistan, which is not a secularized country, no objection is taken to music before a mosque. But in India the Musalmans must insist upon its stoppage for no other reason except that the Hindus claim a right to it”.

Unfortunately, the fanaticism that leads to stone-pelting and other forms of violence on Hindu processions is today being given a cover by blaming it as ‘provocation’ on Hindus.

In addition, these Hindu religious events are repeatedly being maligned as an anti-Muslim project of the BJP.