BENGALURU: In a significant step towards finding an out-of-court settlement to the issue of building a Ram temple in Ayodhya, members of Sunni Waqf Board and All India Muslim Personal Law Board on Thursday supported Art of Living (AoL) founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s initiative in that direction.
AoL spokesperson Darshak Hathi told The New Indian Express that members of the Sunni Waqf Board,
All India Muslim Personal Law Board and some other prominent people met Ravi Shankar in Bengaluru on Thursday and discussed the issue.
“Sixteen leaders from multiple organisations, including All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Sunni Waqf Board, attended the meeting. They have supported the proposal of shifting the mosque outside to another place. Many Muslim stakeholders are cooperating in this matter,” according to a statement issued by the AoL after the meeting.
Hathi said Ravi Shankar had taken the initiative to organise the meeting. “When he proposed that we should go for an out-of-court settlement, they all agreed to it. They also said there is a provision in Islam for shifting the mosque and they are not against construction of Ram temple. They said they can further discuss on how the mosque can be shifted,” Hathi said.
He said all of them have decided to meet in Ayodhya before March 15 to take the issue forward. “It is very good that there is a possibility of shifting the mosque and they are ready for an out-of-court settlement. One of the main petitioner in the case before the Supreme Court had also met Ravi Shankar recently and discussed the issue,” he said.
According to the AoL statement, Thursday’s meeting was attended by Maulana Syed Salman Husain Nadvi, Executive Member, Muslim Personal Law Board, Zufar Faruqui, Chairman, UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, Maulana Syed Salman Husain Nadvi, Executive Member, Muslim Personal Law Board, Maulana Wasif Hasan, Telay Wali Masjid, Lucknow, Maulana Isa Mansuri, Chairman, World Islamic Forum, London, A Aboobucker, former Chairman, Haj Committee of India, and Zufar Faruqui, Chairman, UP Sunni Central Waqf Board.
In an interview to The New Indian Express in January, Ravi Shankar had said that an out-of-court settlement would be a win-win situation for all the concerned and he would continue with his efforts in that direction.