A decision issued by the Northern India Court of Appeal sparked widespread controversy in the country, and fears among Muslims about the fate of many historical Islamic sites, as well as warnings of the escalation of sectarian tensions between Muslims and Hindus.
On Monday, the Court of Appeal of God Abad rejected a petition submitted by the Islamic Administration Committee to the Shahi Jami Mosque in the city of Samal, in the state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India, challenging a previous order issued by a lower court to survey the buildings of the mosque.
The case revolves around the allegations of a group of Hindu extremists, claiming that the mosque, which was built in 1526 by the Mongol Emperor Baber, is based on the ruins of an ancient Hindu temple said to have been devoted to the Hindu God as Kalki.
A primary court has accepted a hurry to conduct a survey of the site on November 19, 2024, without giving the Muslim side an opportunity to express its opinion, which sparked widespread disturbances. Just one week later, on November 26, violent clashes erupted between local communities in Samal, killing five people after the police shot Muslim demonstrators.
In response to the turmoil, the Supreme Court in India briefly arrested the survey, and later issued temporary instructions on December 12.
These guidelines prevent the courts throughout India from issuing orders to conduct new surveys or register new lawsuits that appeal the identity of places of worship.
As a result of the Supreme Court’s intervention, the lower courts in various parts of India have stopped looking at the petitions that stabbed the religious status of historical mosques, which helped reduce the increasing sectarian tensions, but at the same time, the Supreme Court said it will study the constitutionality of a decisive law, which is the law of places of worship for 1991.
This law, which was issued by the Indian Parliament in 1991 after the demolition of the Babri Mosque by Hindu extremists, was to protect the religious character of places of worship as it was on August 15, 1947, which is the day of India’s independence. The purpose of the law was to prevent the reopening of historical grievances, and to protect sectarian harmony in the world’s largest democracy in terms of population.
Feeling feelings and shakes relationships
“The primary goal of this law is to prevent political forces from exploiting history as a weapon. Once the courts allow these investigations, they inevitably fuel public feelings, the old wounds lean, and the fragile relations are shaken originally between societies,” Hersh Mandar, a prominent activist in the field of civil freedoms residing in Delhi, told Al -Jazeera.
Mander likened the issue of the Samal Mosque to the continuous conflict for decades around the Babri Mosque in the city of Iowadia, where Hindu groups claimed that the mosque was built on the site of the birthplace of the god Ram. This conflict reached its climax by demolishing the mosque in 1992, and a ruling from the Supreme Court in 2019 paved the way for the construction of a Hindu temple on the site. Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the temple last year before the general elections.
Mandar said: “What we are witnessing in Samal is part of a broader ideological movement. Firstly, the Babri Mosque, and now Samal, is a movement targeting the mosques of the Mongol era in the name of the restoration of temples. These movements are not aimed at achieving justice, but rather to strengthen a specific narrative.”
The Supreme Court interference has sparked concern about mosques and Islamic historical sites, and the survey that the court ordered to the Shahi Jameh Mosque was conducted, but its results are still secret.
Meanwhile, the mosque committee submitted a separate petition to the Supreme Court of God Abad, in an effort to cancel the previous survey and oppose any other surveys, but the court in the city of Godabad rejected the appeal submitted by Muslims, despite the directives issued by the Supreme Court regarding the suspension of surveying operations for mosques.
We will resort to the Supreme Court
Lawyer Masoud Farouki, representative of the mosque committee, told Al -Jazeera Mubasher.
The case has a careful follow -up, amid fears of the Muslim minority in India that the Hindu extremist court ruling will encourage the reinterment of their campaign against mosques and Islamic historical sites.
“It is unfortunate and disturbing that the Court of Appeal shall issue a ruling in this way, especially in light of the previous directive of the Supreme Court to stop investigations in places of worship. This issue must be referred to the Supreme Court, with a request to overturn the ruling and ensure the protection of the position of the mosque,” said the spokesman for the Personal Status Authority for Muslims throughout India, S -QR Elias, to Al -Jazeera.
Wide spread to the police to prevent Muslim protests
Witnesses said that since Monday they have noticed a widespread deployment of the police in the Muslim -major areas of Samal to prevent protests, after the court ruling against the Muslim side.
#Watch | Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh: Flag March Being Conduted by Police in Sambhal
Rejecting Muslim Side’s Petition, ALHABAD HIGH COURT TODAY UPHELD SURVEY ORDER OF SHAHI JAMA MASJID In SAMBAL ISSUED by Trial Court. pic.twitter.com/ws20z2wabp
Ani (@ani) May 19, 2025
While the Supreme Court is preparing to decide on the broader effects of the 1991 law, defenders of civil rights urge the court to maintain its original purpose.
“India cannot become a battlefield between competing historical narratives. The Supreme Court must draw a clear line that protects religious harmony, national unity, and the secular foundations of the republic,” said Mander.
According to government statistics, India includes more than 600,000 mosques, which varies between small and historical mosques built by Muslim rulers throughout the ages. These mosques are not just places of worship, but rather a living embodiment of the history of Muslims and their religious culture.
But recent years, especially since the arrival of the far -right Pharaya Jarata party led by Narindra Modi to power in 2014, has witnessed the escalation of the demands of Hindu organizations regarding many mosques and Islamic historical monuments. These claims are based on allegations that these mosques and landmarks were originally Hindu temples.