Lucknow: After senior UP minister Azam Khan demanded that the Taj Mahal be handed over to the Central Sunni Waqf Board, the Shias are demanding control of the monument on the grounds that Mumtaz Mahal, in whose memory it was built, was a Shia.
Syed Faiyyaz Haidar, president of Lucknow based Imam-e-Raza committee, said, “The Taj Mahal should be handed over to the Shia Waqf Board since Mumtaz Mahal, whose real name was Arjumand Bano, was a Shia.”
Mr Syed Haidar cited architectural evidences “that point to the Taj Mahal being a Shia monument”.
“The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum, and on the west side, there is a mosque. Near the mosque is the hauz (water tank) and, traditionally, it is Shias who perform wuzu (ablution) from a hauz before offering prayers. On the eastern side, there is a hall which was used for congregation and matam (mourning) during Muharram,” he said,
Mumtaz Mahal was first buried in Burhanpur where she died and the casket was later taken to the Taj Mahal. This is a Shia custom known as “mitti suapna,” he said.
The Imam-e-Raza committee has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Rajnath Singh and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
