India: Muslims Gather to Protect 600-Year-Old Historic Royal Mosque

In Ujjain, a city in Madhya Pradesh, India, hundreds of Muslims gathered inside and outside a more than 600-year-old historic royal mosque to protest a proposal to demolish part of the mosque.  According to Indian media reports, a portion of the historic mosque has been affected by a road-widening project being carried out as part of preparations for the Simhastha 2028 religious festival. Local authorities say widening the road is necessary to improve traffic flow and public movement, as millions of pilgrims are expected to visit the area during the major religious gathering.  Mosque administrators and local Muslim residents have objected to the proposed action and launched a protest. Participants said they would remain at the site in large numbers to protect the historic mosque and would continue their protest peacefully.

According to local reports, additional police and Rapid Action Force personnel have been deployed around the mosque, with security tightened in the area because of the protest. Some reports also said that a large number of people were present inside the mosque.  The mosque’s imam, Muhammad Ibrahim, said the mosque was built in 1390 and is considered a historic religious site approximately 636 years old. He expressed concern that even minor alterations to the mosque’s structure could affect the stability of the building.  The Madhya Pradesh High Court rejected petitions seeking protection of the mosque in a ruling issued on September 9.

The case before the court concerned not the demolition of the entire mosque, but the removal of a portion that falls within the proposed road-widening area. In its ruling, the court also considered the administration’s arguments regarding road expansion, traffic management and public safety during Simhastha 2028.  According to reports on the court proceedings, the plan to widen the road to 15 meters would affect approximately 39.33 square meters of the Royal Mosque. The court also noted that portions of other religious structures would be affected by the same road-widening project.  Meanwhile, Muslims protesting to protect the mosque are demanding that the historic place of worship be exempted from the road-expansion plan.  Road widening and reconstruction work is underway in Ujjain as part of preparations for the Simhastha Kumbh Mela in 2028, when a large number of pilgrims are expected to visit the city.