Muslim group denounces opening of Hindu temple on site of demolished historic Babri Mosque in India

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expressed "grave worry" Tuesday for the opening of a Hindu temple on top of the demolished historic Babri Mosque in the Indian city of Ayodhya.

"In line with the OIC position expressed by the Council of Foreign Ministers in its previous sessions, the General Secretariat denounces these actions aimed at obliterating the Islamic landmarks represented by the Babri Mosque, which stood tall at the exact location for five centuries," it said in a statement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the grand temple of Ram on Monday. built on the site of the demolished 16th-century Babri Mosque.

Built in 1528 under the rule of the first Mughal Emperor Babur, the grand mosque, along with 2.77 acres of land, became the center of a dispute in the latter half of the 19th century when a group of Hindus said it was the birthplace of King Ram, who is said to have ruled the region somewhere between 869,108 to 18.14 million years ago.

The demolition of the 16th-century Babri Mosque triggered violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims.

The decades-long dispute between Hindus and Muslims about the ownership of the site was settled by the Indian Supreme Court in 2019 when it handed over the site to Hindus and allowed the construction of a temple.

The court directed authorities to allow a separate area on the outskirts of Ayodhya to the Sunni Central Waqf Board to build a new mosque.