Babri Masjid Is A Mosque And It Will Always Remain As One Asaduddin Owaisi

Ahead of the bhoomi pujan for Ram temple in Ayodhya, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi tells Outlook in an interview that Muslims -- and people who believe in justice -- will keep telling the new generation that 'our Masjid was demolished.

Ahead of the bhoomi pujan for Ram temple in Ayodhya on August 5, Asaduddin Owaisi, president of All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), says that Babri Masjid will always remain a mosque. In an interview with Outlook's Preetha Nair, Owaisi also says that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to clarify whether he is visiting Ayodhya as the PM of the country or in individual capacity. 

Q) Preparations are in full swing at Ayodhya ahead of the ground-breaking ceremony for the Ram temple. Your criticism of SC’s Ayodhya verdict is well known. Now after eight months, have you reconciled to it?

Babri Masjid is a mosque and it will always remain as one. This is my faith. That cannot be taken away from me or anyone. Had the masjid not been demolished on 6 December 1992, I don’t think this judgment would have come. History will remember what happened in December 1949, when the idols were placed surreptitiously in the Masjid and the events that led to the demolition in 1992. As far as Muslims and people who believe in justice are concerned, we will keep telling the new generation that our masjid was demolished. It doesn’t matter if our voices are suppressed. We will tell it in our own way.

Q) Prime Minister Modi will lay the foundation stone of Ram temple on August 5. Any political message in the visit?

The Prime Minister should tell the country whether he is going to Ayodhya in his capacity as the PM or in his individual capacity. As the Prime Minister, he represents all religions and also people who don’t believe in religion.Outlook