Now, Shias assert claim to Taj Mahal

“The Taj Mahal should be handed over to the Shia Waqf Board as Mumtaz Mahal, whose real name was Arjumand Bano, was a Shia,” said Syed Faiyyaz Haidar, president of Lucknow based Imam-e-Raza committee.

Haidar also cites architectural evidences to cite the Taj Mahal as a “Shia building.” “The Taj Mahal is essentially a mausoleum, and on the West, there is a mosque. Near the mosque is the hauz (water tank), and traditionally, it is Shias who perform wudhu (ablution) from a hauz before offering prayers. On the eastern side, there is a hall which was used for congregation and matam (self-flagellation) in those times to observe Muharram,” he says. “Also, Mumtaz was temporarily buried in Burhanpur, where she died, before being taken in a casket to Taj Mahal; this again, is a Shia custom of mitti saunpna,” he says.

The committee has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh as well as Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav regarding this.

The committee has also found support from Shia clerics, including Kalbe Jawwad, who said, “It is known the world over that the Taj Mahal was made for Mumtaz Mahal, who was a Shia, so, Taj should be handed over to the Shia Waqf Board. However, it houses two graves, one of a Sunni — Mughal emperor Shah Jahan — and one of a Shia — Mumtaz — so that way, at least half of it should be handed over to the Shia Waqf Board.”

Currently, the Archaeological Survey of India manages the Taj Mahal.

On November 13 in a Waqf Convention, Azam Khan, who is also the Uttar Pradesh Muslim Waqf minister, said the Taj Mahal should be declared a property of State Waqf Board.

His demand was later backed by prominent Sunni cleric and All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) member Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahali. They also wrote to Akhilesh to open the Taj Mahal’s mosque for all five prayers in a day.