Karsevak-turned-Muslim building mosque in hyderabad city

Chandrayangutta: Notwithstanding the Supreme Court verdict on Ayodhya issue, a karsevak who took part in the demolition of Babri Masjid continues to intrigue the minds of those who want to strengthen the communal fabric. Following his construction of scores of mosques across India in different States, he will be coming up with a mosque in the city.

Balbir Singh who transformed to become Mohammed Amir was once a popular Sangh leader. It was 27 years ago on this day that he climbed the dome to bring down Babri Masjid, along with other karsevaks. Later on, he launched a mission to build and protect Mosques across India. The latest venture is a huge structure which will not only house a mosque, but also madarsa in Hafez Baba Nagar.

Within six months of razing of the historic structure of Babri Masjid, he converted to Islam and embarked on a new mission as a mark of repentance for his deed. As part of his endeavour till now, he spearheaded construction and renovation of some 91 mosques across India as against his target of 100 mosques. Besides these, 59 more mosques including the 'Masjid-e-Rahimiya' are being constructed in the city are part of the ongoing projects.

Speaking to The Hans India, Amir said that last year, on December 6, he had laid foundation for masjid near Balapur road in Hafez Baba Nagar. Since then the construction works had been going on and locals also started performing prayers in a temporary shade. "The mosque is being constructed with ground plus 6 floors in a 3,200 sq yd land which also includes a madarsa (Islamic School)," he added.

The reason for choosing such a mission, he recalled, was that after the demolition of Babri Masjid, he was given a hero's welcome hometown, but his family who upheld secular values denounced his actions. Later on, he started living with the guilt and also fell sick. He also developed physiological problems and decided to consult a Maulana. He went to the Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui in Muzaffarnagar in UP and explained to him about what he had done and asked him to find a solution for overcoming this.

The maulana enlightened him with Islamic teachings and its spiritual side in the light of Quran and Hadith. On June 1, 1993 he accepted Islam and vowed to build and protect 100 Mosques.

Amir built the first mosque in Haryana and named it Masjid-e-Madina in 1994. After 3 months, he laid foundation of another mosque in Haryana. Almost all of the mosques' foundation was laid on December 6. He also built one of the most famous and popular mosques in Mendu near Hathra in UP. "These mosques are mostly in north and north-east states. For bringing about awareness and teachings about the Islam, I am running a Dawah training centre for the converted Muslims in each of these mosques. Wherever mosque is under construction, the family is shifted there and we start teaching about Islam," he added.