Appointment of Imam at Qutubhkhana: Bareilly district admn asks Waqf Board to take call, latter says not our job

The mosque was closed after the two sects entered into a standoff over the appointment of the new Imam following the arrest of Imam Imtiyaz (of Deobandi sect) on sodomy charges.

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The district administration’s various efforts to resolve the issue — prominent among which was the announcement that no new tradition will be allowed at the mosque and the Muezzin (one who calls azaan) will lead the morning prayer — have failed to produce any result with neither party ready to relent. Barelvis, considered dominant in the district, have in the meantime announced a mass agitation after Ramzan to take the mosque under their possession.

“We held several rounds of talks with both the sects but no consensus could be reached. Left with no option, we have forwarded the file to the Waqf board to take a call. We will implement whatever decision the board takes,” said Additional District Magistrate (City) Alok Kumar, who headed the committee that was set up to resolve the dispute.

The board has, however, refused to take up the issue.

“We are no one to decide on the appointment of Imam of a mosque. It is out of our jurisdiction. We will look into the issue and do whatever can be done after we have received the official file,” chairman of the Waqf board, Zufar Farooqui said.

Farooqui added that the board can, at the most, look into the mosque’s management, clarifying that the board itself cannot act as the managing committee for the mosque. “We can examine the management committee of the mosque (Anjuman Islamia). If it has been constituted as per norms, then all the powers to take decisions rest with it. Unless the Waqf board itself is the managing committee, appointment of Imams cannot be done (by the board).”

Anjuman Islamia, the committee that governs the mosque, had sacked the previous Imam and appointed his replacement, Maulana Faisal Tehsini (of Barelvi sect), as the new Imam, prompting the Deobandis to protest.

The Barelvis, meanwhile, are unhappy with the administration’s move and have threatened agitation.

“It is a delaying tactic. Waqf board has no authority to appoint Imams. We are observing the situation and will launch an agitation after Ramzan,” said Maulana Tasleem Raza Khan, president of Ahl-e-Sunnat Muslim Movement which is spearheading the agitation. Tasleem hails from Aala Hazrat family of Barelvis and is the younger brother of current Sajjadanashin of the dargah, Maulana Subhan Raza Khan.

The issue has even created ripples in the Samajwadi Party government with Minister of State for Khadi and Village Industries, Reyaz Ahmed, openly blaming the state government for delaying the matter and denying Barelvis their right over the mosque. Barelvis claim that the mosque belongs to them but the Deobandis had occupied it illegally.

Masjid Qutubkhana was registered as a Waqf property (number 205) on May 18, 1917 by Mohammad Qasim. With a mosque on its first floor and several shops on the ground, Masjid Qutubkhana’s popularity is such that the locality is named after it.

Due to the lock down, namaz has not been offered at the mosque for the past one and a half months.