Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah among 100 prominent Muslims opposing filing of Ayodhya review plea

New Delhi, Nov 25: About 100 prominent Muslim citizens from across the country, including actors Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi, on Monday opposed the decision by some litigants to file a review petition challenging the Supreme Court's Ayodhya verdict, saying that keeping the dispute alive will harm the community.

Members of the Muslim community who signed the statement include Islamic scholars, social activists, lawyers, journalists, businessmen, poets, actors, filmmakers, theatre personalities, musicians and students among others, a statement issued by the group said.

"We share the unhappiness of the Indian Muslim community, constitutional experts and secular organisations over the fact that the highest court in the land has placed faith above law in arriving at its decision," the statement said.

"But while agreeing that the court order is judicially flawed, we strongly believe that keeping the Ayodhya dispute alive will harm, and not help, Indian Muslims," it said.

The signatories include Shah, Azmi, film writer Anjum Rajabali, journalist Javed Anand, among others. The Supreme Court, in its verdict in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi title case on November 9, said that the entire 2.77 acres of disputed land in Ayodhya should be handed over to the deity Ram Lalla, who was one of the three litigants.

The five-judge Constitution bench also directed the Centre to allot a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board in Ayodhya to build a mosque. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and the Maulana Arshad Madani-led Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind announced on November 17 that a review petition will be filed in the apex court against the Ayodhya verdict.