Shia religious leaders in India denounce attempts to change names of Islamic sites

A number of Shia religious leaders in India announced on Sunday, that they have submitted a request to the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling on him to restore the original names of Islamic historical and heritage sites in the city of Lucknow.

 This comes after the Archaeological Survey set new names for the archaeological sites and neglected their historical and well-known names, including changing the name of the shrine (Imambara Shah Najaf) to the name (Ghazi al-Din Haidar), as mentioned by the Shia cleric Mirza Yasoub Abbas.

 “This act is nothing but an attempt to destroy the history and heritage of Muslims,”   Mirza Yasoub Abbas said in a statement to the daily newspaper (Business Standard), which was followed by the Shia Waves Agency.

He added, “There is a continuous attempt to destroy our (Muslim) history and heritage, including the sites (Bara Imambara, Husseinabad Imambara, Shah Najaf) and other landmarks,” noting that “the government has failed to maintain or restore the dilapidated buildings, and now a campaign has begun to change their names.”

 According to the newspaper, the Shah Najaf “is considered a shrine, and it is an exact copy of the tomb of Imam Ali (peace be upon him) in the Iraqi holy city of Najaf.”

 The newspaper added that “Shia clerics will participate in a special session in December of the Shia Personal Status Law Council for all India, where they plan to launch a campaign to restore the original names of Islamic heritage sites.”