NEW DELHI: Muslims in India have criticized the Supreme Court’s refusal on Thursday to revisit its 1994 ruling that said mosques are not essential to Islam.
Dr. Mohammad Manzoor Alam, chairman of the New Delhi-based Institute of Objective Studies, said the court had ignored abundant Islamic literature on the necessity of mosques in Islam.
“Hindu religious extremists may use this verdict as a ruse to trouble us in the future,” he told Arab News.
New Delhi-based academic Dr. Anwar Sadat said mosques are “where we understand religion and its interpretation. It’s a place where we form associations. The court hasn’t done justice to us.” Thursday’s ruling paves the way for determining ownership of the disputed Babri mosque site in Ayodhya, a town in the eastern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya’s mostly Hindu population believe that their supreme deity Ram was born at the site. They wish to build a huge temple there, but the Muslim community opposes this.
The court has set Oct. 29 as the start date for the hearing on ownership of the site.
“The court has refused to examine whether essentiality of any practice of any religion can be decided without examining the religious texts of that religion,” said Dr. Faizan Mustafa, a constitutional expert and vice chancellor of the NALSAR University of Law in the city of Hyderabad. Sadat said: “By declaring mosques as not integral to Islam, the court has given a broad hint as to which way the verdict in the title suit will go.” He added: “Leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other Hindu organizations are celebrating the ruling.” After Thursday’s verdict, Uma Bharati, a BJP leader and a minister in the current government, said: “It is an important day for me.”
Bharati, allegedly one of the leaders of a mob that demolished the Babri mosque in 1992, added: “Ayodhya is an important religious place for Hindus because it is the birthplace of Lord Ram.”
He said: “For Muslims, it is not a religious place. For them it is Makkah, just like Vatican City is for Christians.”
![]()
“The ghost fleets will not outrun justice. They will not hide under false claims of nationality,” Noem wrote on X, saying the Coast Guard carried out the seizure.
US Southern Command (Southcom), which is responsible for the country’s forces in the region, said US Marines and Navy personnel also took part in the operation, launching from the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier.
“Once again, our joint interagency forces sent a clear message this morning: ‘There is no safe haven for criminals,’” Southcom said in a post on X that included a video clip showing US forces roping down from a helicopter and taking control of the ship.
President Donald Trump later said the seizure was carried out in coordination with interim authorities in Venezuela after the ship departed the country without US approval.
“This tanker is now on its way back to Venezuela, and the oil will be sold,” he said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Trump said last month that he had ordered a “blockade” of sanctioned oil vessels heading to and from Venezuela, and American forces have taken control of five ships since then, including three this week.
Among them was a Russia-linked vessel that was seized in the North Atlantic on Wednesday in an operation condemned by Moscow, after being pursued by the United States from off the coast of Venezuela.
Trump told Fox News on Thursday that the tanker seized the previous day was being escorted by a Russian submarine and a destroyer.
“They both left very quickly when we arrived and we took over the ship,” the US president said, declining to specify if his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin called him after the seizure.
Indian Muslims irked by top court ruling on mosques
Indian Muslims irked by top court ruling on mosques
- The court has refused to examine whether essentiality of any practice of any religion can be decided without examining the religious texts of that religion
US says it seized another tanker that tried to break Venezuela blockade
- The latest vessel seized was the Olina, which US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said was “another ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ship”
- “The ghost fleets will not outrun justice,” Noem wrote on X
WASHINGTON: The United States said Friday it seized another tanker that tried to break an American naval blockade aimed at preventing sanctioned vessels from going to or departing Venezuela, the fifth ship apprehended in recent weeks.
Washington has deployed a huge naval force in the Caribbean, striking boats it says were used for drug trafficking, seizing tankers and carrying out a stunning operation to seize Venezuela’s leftist leader.
The latest vessel seized was the Olina, which US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said was “another ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ship suspected of carrying embargoed oil” that “departed Venezuela attempting to evade US forces.”
“The ghost fleets will not outrun justice. They will not hide under false claims of nationality,” Noem wrote on X, saying the Coast Guard carried out the seizure.
US Southern Command (Southcom), which is responsible for the country’s forces in the region, said US Marines and Navy personnel also took part in the operation, launching from the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier.
“Once again, our joint interagency forces sent a clear message this morning: ‘There is no safe haven for criminals,’” Southcom said in a post on X that included a video clip showing US forces roping down from a helicopter and taking control of the ship.
President Donald Trump later said the seizure was carried out in coordination with interim authorities in Venezuela after the ship departed the country without US approval.
“This tanker is now on its way back to Venezuela, and the oil will be sold,” he said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Trump said last month that he had ordered a “blockade” of sanctioned oil vessels heading to and from Venezuela, and American forces have taken control of five ships since then, including three this week.
Among them was a Russia-linked vessel that was seized in the North Atlantic on Wednesday in an operation condemned by Moscow, after being pursued by the United States from off the coast of Venezuela.
Trump told Fox News on Thursday that the tanker seized the previous day was being escorted by a Russian submarine and a destroyer.
“They both left very quickly when we arrived and we took over the ship,” the US president said, declining to specify if his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin called him after the seizure.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.