Sambhal mosque row: Jama Masjid Shahi Imam appeals PM Modi ‘to win hearts of Muslims’, says ‘situation worse than 1947’

Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid made heartfelt appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he expressed deep concern about the growing communal tensions in the country. His concerns came amid ongoing mosque surveys in different regions of the country including the recent Sambhal violence.

While holding prayers at the historic mosque, Bukhari said, “We are standing in a situation worse than the one we were in 1947. No one knows which way the country will go in the future,” as quoted by News18.

He further added, “You (PM Modi) should do justice to the chair you are sitting on. Win the hearts of Muslims. Stop the miscreants who are trying to create tensions and affecting the atmosphere of the country.”

Earlier on November 27, four people died and several others, including police personnel, were injured in Sambhal after a confrontation erupted over a court-ordered survey of the city’s Shahi Jama Masjid in Kot Garvi area, following a petition claiming that a Harihar temple once stood at the site.