A temple priest in Delhi has spoken up for the century-old Race Course mosque, which faces demolition, saying he stands with the mosque and its imam even as the area around it is cleared.
Keshav Raj Shastri, who has served as a priest at a temple in the same area for 15 years, told reporters that “mosques and temples should never be demolished”. He described Imam Mohammed Haroon as an old friend, and said the two men visit each other and talk. He said he did not know what the situation was, and that there had never been any untoward incident in the area.
Shastri said the electricity connection to the temple had been cut as well. The mosque has been without power and water for more than a week. No notice has been served on the temple, he said, and he and four people in his family, including two children, are still able to hold pooja. He added that officials had assured him the temple would not be demolished. “But I support the mosque,” he said.
The mosque stands inside the Race Course Club, which covers about 53 acres near Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence. The club and the slums around it are being cleared after several rounds of litigation. The mosque is a Grade II heritage structure, notified in 2009, and is registered with the Delhi Waqf Board. It can hold about 800 worshippers. The Centre told the Delhi High Court that it was taking possession of the area for reasons of national security.
On Friday, October 23, a tearful Imam Haroon prayed during the Jummah prayers, asking God for help and saying the community’s faith was being tested. Men and women prayed in silence for their mosque to be saved and for their dignity to be restored, as worshippers stood together.
The mosque’s future is still undecided, and no official demolition order has been publicly reported. Shastri’s support gives the mosque’s supporters a voice from another faith community at a moment of real anxiety for worshippers in the neighbourhood.
