The Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board told the Supreme Court that the Babri Masjid was a Shia waqf (endowment).
What are Shia Board’s views?
Shia Board traced the lineage of the masjid to a Shia noble in Babur’s court.
Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board has been at the frontline of the 70-year-old Ram janma bhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute.
The Shia Board called the Sunnis as mere interlopers led by “hardliners” who do not want an amicable settlement with the Hindu sects involved.
The Shia Board said that they wanted a peaceful co-existence with the Hindu community.
They filed an affidavit before the court in which they acknowledged that the close placement of a mosque and a mandir is a recipe for communal distress.
They noted that they are so close that even their respective loudspeakers would disturb each other’s prayers.
They said that they would settle for a masjid located in a “Muslim-dominated area at a reasonable distance from the place of birth of Sri Ram.”
But the affidavit neither specified the location of such a “Muslim-dominated area” nor the “reasonable distance” they proposed.
The cross-appeals challenging the September 2010 judgment of the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court in the title dispute is coming up for hearing.
Quick Facts
Shias and Sunnis
They both agree on the fundamentals of Islam and share the same Holy Book.
Their differences are mostly derived from their different historical experiences, political and social developments, as well as ethnic composition.
When the Prophet died in the early 7th century the question of who should succeed the Prophet arose.
The larger group of Muslims chose Abu Bakr, a close Companion of the Prophet, as the Caliph (politico-social leader).
They have come to be known as Sunni Muslims.
However another smaller group, which also included some of the senior Companions, believed that the Prophet's son-in-law and cousin, Ali, should be Caliph.
Those who believe Ali should have been the Prophet's successor are now known as Shi'a Muslims.
85–90% of the world's Muslims are Sunni and the rest are Shia.
Shias make up the majority of the citizen population in Iraq, Bahrain, Lebanon, Iran and Azerbaijan.
