Idols brought from outside being worshipped at Gyanvapi complex, claims Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind chief

Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind chief Maulana Arshad Madani has claimed that the idols being worshipped by the Hindu devotees inside the disputed Gyanvapi complex have been brought from outside.

Maulana Madani denied that the idols being worshipped at the 'Vyas ji ka Tehkhana', the sealed cellar, were excavated during the Archaeological Survey of India's (ASI) scientific survey in the compound.

"If there was a mosque, then the idol which has been brought to the basement would not have been brought from outside. There would have been an idol here from the beginning. But there is no idol here from the beginning. Then how can it be said that there was a temple here and a mosque has been built in its place?" asked Madani.

"The things that are being said that there are idols there and there are signs of temples, those are the places that are separated from the mosque. Where there is a mosque, there is no evidence that there was a temple," he



said.

"Whether it is Mathura or Gyanvapi mosque, there was never a temple there. It cannot be. This is against the belief of Islam," he added.

In its survey report, the ASI has found inscriptions at the site in both Sanskrit and Dravidian languages, dating from the 12th to the 17th centuries. A Sanskrit inscription speaks of Rudra, another name for Shiva, and includes a mention of the month Sravana, placing it in the 17th century.

The ASI also found sculptures of Hindu deities Vishnu and Hanuman on the site. Some of these idols, which are in a dilapidated state, are now being worshipped inside the sealed basement.

Madani also questioned the credibility of the ASI survey. "The statues have been brought here and the worship has been done. Before this, there were no statues here. How can it be said that the statue is kept? This means that this survey report is not correct. The survey report is wrong," he said.