Page 199 - Islam and Far Eastern Religions
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the VHP, which supported the idea of building a Rama temple on the
site of the Babur mosque, made provocative statements.
In the ensuing clashes more than 2,000 Muslims were martyred.
The foremost supporters of these events were the ruling government
party, the BJP, and its Prime Minister Vajpayee. It had close ties to racist
organizations like the VHP. The conflict spilled over to other countries
like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Britain where more clashes took place and
the already tense situation between Pakistan and India worsened.
A report in the 21 December, 1992, edition of Time magazine discussed the
history of the debate over the Babur Mosque. There was no conflict between
Muslims and Hindus between the construction of the mosque in 1528 until
1855, when the claim in question was made. In 1934, Hindu fanatics tore
down part of the mosque walls. As the
debate continued, in 1983 the World Hindu
Association initiated a campaign to have
the mosque pulled down and a new place
of worship erected on the site. Clashes
increased rapidly after that date. In 1992,
the mosque was totally destroyed by
Hindu fanatics.
Harun Yahya (Adnan Oktar)