India: Muslim leaders call on government to put end to mosque-temple disputes

Top Muslim leaders in India called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Friday to end disputes over mosques and Hindu temples, saying the minority Muslim population was feeling under threat and their places of worship should be protected.

“Many people in the country are claiming that some of the historic mosques were constructed after destruction of temples, but these are false accusations,” said Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, president of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board. He urged the government to save the secular fabric of the nation.

The fight over claims to holy sites has divided India, which has a Hindu majority but also the world’s third-largest Muslim population, since independence from British rule in 1947. Critics accuse Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of pushing a pro-Hindu agenda and promoting discrimination against Muslims.