Muslim World League chief’s sermon writes a new page in India’s Jama Masjid’s history

A standing-room-only congregation heard the first sermon in 400 years at the Jama Masjid. (Supplied)
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Updated 19 July 2023
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Muslim World League chief’s sermon writes a new page in India’s Jama Masjid’s history

  • Since its completion in 1656, the mosque has shaped the popular memory of the people of Delhi and the Indian nation
  • Friday discourse of Sheikh Al-Issa at Jama Masjid was the first sermon in 400 years by a religious figure from outside India

NEW DELHI: Constructed during the Mughal Empire some 400 years ago, the Masjid-e-Jahan Numa in the north Indian city of Delhi, popularly known as the Jama Masjid, is among the largest, most beautiful and most cherished places of worship on the Indian subcontinent.

Although the complex can accommodate 85,000 worshippers, it was standing room only when Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, secretary-general of the Muslim World League and chairman of the Organization of Muslim Scholars, delivered the Friday sermon last week.

According to the MWL website, it was the first time in 400 years that a religious figure from outside India had delivered a sermon at the mosque. Al-Issa did so at the invitation of its imam and with a warm welcome from worshippers.




A standing-room-only congregation heard the first sermon in 400 years at the Jama Masjid. (Shutterstock)

Emperor Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal ruler in India, presided over the completion of the Jama Masjid in 1656. Since then, the mosque has shaped the popular memory of the people of Delhi and the wider Indian nation.

“Its foundation stone was laid on Oct. 6, 1650, under the supervision of Saadullah Khan, the prime minister, and Fazil Khan, the head of Shahjahan’s household establishment, at the cost of ten lacs of rupees,” wrote Sadia Aziz, a research scholar at the University of Delhi’s Department of History, in her 2017 essay “Mosque, Memory and State: A Case Study of Jama Masjid (India) and the Colonial State c. 1857.” (A lac is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to 100,000.)

It was built on a hill called Bhojla Pahari, 1,000 yards from the Red Fort, the palace-fortress of the Mughal empire in their newly established capital, Shahjahanabad.

The mosque measured about 261 feet long and 90 feet wide, its roof surmounted by three domes decorated with stripes of black and white marble.

Jama Masjid has three entrances, the northern, southern and eastern, of which the last was the Shahi gate, reserved exclusively for the emperor, who would arrive in a procession with princes, nobles and their retinue from the Red Fort every Friday and on Eid days.

The mosque is known by two names, the first of which is the royal one bestowed upon it by the emperor: Masjid-i-Jahan Numa. “Jahan” means “world” and “Numa” means “visible,” signifying, figuratively, a structure that commands a view of the entire world.

The second name, Jama Masjid, meaning “collective or congregational masjid,” emerged out of the social consciousness of the people and over time became more popular than the formal name.




MWL chief Sheikh Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa. (Supplied)

When the city of Delhi was taken over by the British in 1803, leaving the Mughal emperor in place as the ritual imperial head, colonial authorities assisted with the repair and renovation of the mosque.

However, such efforts by the colonial authorities to endear themselves to the local population came to an abrupt halt during the uprising of 1857, known as the Indian Mutiny or the First War of Independence.

When colonial authority was restored in mid-September 1857, the Muslim population was specifically targeted, as the British perceived the uprising as being a Muslim conspiracy against them. Consequently, numerous mosques in Delhi were demolished.

Various options were discussed by the British as to the fate of the Jama Masjid. The plans ranged from demolition to conversion to a church or secular college. In the end, a plan was hatched to turn it into barracks for Sikh soldiers from Punjab.

After this initial planning, however, the colonial authorities softened their approach and instead tried to use the mosque as a bargaining chip to win over the Muslim citizenry of Delhi. After much petitioning, the mosque was returned to the inhabitants of the Old City on Nov. 28, 1862, with the imposition of several rules and regulations that were to be followed by worshippers.

Given the Jama Masjid’s long and checkered history, it was therefore a moment of great significance to have the head of the MWL deliver the Friday sermon and lead prayer before a congregation that reflected the diversity and unity of modern India.




the complex can accommodate 85,000 worshippers. (Shutterstock)

Al-Issa arrived in the capital New Delhi on July 10 at the head of an MWL delegation, following an official invitation from the Indian government. During his trip, he met Indian President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Irani. He also held meetings with senior Indian Islamic scholars and religious leaders of various faiths.

His visit was designed to promote fraternal and friendly dialogue, to enhance understanding and cooperation, and to discuss many topics of common interest between the faiths, officials said.

“The visit of His Excellency Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa enhances the relations between the two countries as well as relations between Muslims and followers of other faiths in India,” Mohammed Abdul Hakkim Al-Kandi, the imam of Jama Masjid, said in a video message for the MWL.

India is home to 1.4 billion people, including about 210 million Muslims who constitute the largest Muslim-minority population in the world. The majority of Indians are Hindus. Other minorities include Jains, Sikhs, Christians and Buddhists.

More than 75 years after India gained its independence, the country has generally managed to live up to the ideals of a society in which the followers of many religions can live in harmony and practice their faiths freely. However, intercommunal conflicts have routinely flared, leading to calls for mediation and dialogue.

Religious leaders who were present at Al-Issa’s sermon and other events during his visit said they hoped it would further encourage interfaith harmony.

JAMA MASJID FACTS

Old Name Masjid-i-Jehan- Numa (the mosque that reflects the whole world)

Location Old Delhi, India

Date of construction 1644-1656

Built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan

Architect Ustad Ahmad Lahori

Capacity 85,000 in total

Length 40 meters

Width 27 meters

Domes 3

Gates 3

Minarets 2

Minaret height 41 meters

Material Red sandstone, marble

Cost 1 million rupees

Asghar Ali Imam Mahdi Salafi, ameer of the Jamiate Ahle Hadeeth in India, said he hoped the visit would have “far-reaching significance” and a “profound positive impact.”

Syed Naseruddin Chishty, chairman of the All India Sufi Sajjadanashin Council, said the visit sent a message that Muslims believe in religious harmony and coexistence.

“Today is a great event,” he said. “It is a message to the whole world, the Muslim world especially, for Muslims living in India. India only wants peace. India believes in unity, in diversity and in universal brotherhood.”

Speaking to Arab News, Muddassir Quamar, professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said: “Saudi Arabia has been working toward building an interfaith dialogue globally. At a time when the world has witnessed so much division and tension among different cultures and faiths, greater interfaith dialogue can help heal the humanity and develop lasting cross-cultural connections.”

He continued: “Saudi Arabia and India are close partners and the abode of two faiths, Islam and Hinduism. Both believe in peace and universality of humanity, so the visit by Sheikh Al-Issa will help in developing even closer cultural relations between India and Saudi Arabia. Indian Muslims have seen the visit in a positive light.”

One of Al-Issa’s speeches in the Indian capital, at the Vivekananda International Foundation, was attended by prominent religious leaders, intellectuals, academics, politicians and parliamentarians. Among the attendees was Adil Rasheed, a senior Indian strategic affairs and defense policy analyst.

“Dr. Al-Issa’s message of religious harmony and peace was very well received,” Rasheed told Arab News.




The Jama Masjid, seen here in a photo from 1877, was returned by the British colonial authorities to Delhi’s Muslim inhabitants in 1862. (Getty Images)

“His scholarship, wisdom and oratory kept audiences rapt, interspersed with frequent rounds of spontaneous applause.

“Dr. Al-Issa’s message of correct upbringing of children, untainted by radical and extremist thought, was highly appreciated, as was his insistence on the need for constant dialogue between religions and civilizations as the only legitimate means for resolving disputes and misunderstandings.”

Rasheed’s view was seconded by Siraj Kureshi, chairman of the India Islamic Culture Center. “Sheikh Al-Issa is a major personality and a scholar. He has a huge reputation particularly in the Islamic countries, so wherever he goes people look at him with a lot of respect,” he told Arab News.

“The message he delivered to Indians was good. His topics were humanity , women empowerment, youth and education among other things. These are his qualities. That is why people like him and listen to him attentively.”

He added: “Saudi-Indian relations are very old. They go back hundreds of years. They have honoured our prime ministers. There is a huge Indian population working in Saudi Arabia. I am sure his message has been well received.

“Sheikh Al-Issa’s visit should not be linked to the internal affairs of India. We should keep in mind our age-old relations with Saudi Arabia. I am sure he had his messages for the PM and the president when he met them during his visit.”


US to revoke all South Sudan visas over failure to accept repatriation of citizens: Rubio

Updated 9 sec ago
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US to revoke all South Sudan visas over failure to accept repatriation of citizens: Rubio

  • South Sudan had failed to respect the principle that every country must accept the return of its citizens in a timely manner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said
  • Washington “will be prepared to review these actions when South Sudan is in full cooperation,” he added

WASHINGTON: The US said on Saturday it would revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders over South Sudan’s failure to accept the return of its repatriated citizens, at a time when many in Africa fear that country could return to civil war.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has taken aggressive measures to ramp up immigration enforcement, including the repatriation of people deemed to be in the US illegally.
The administration has warned that countries that do not swiftly take back their citizens will face consequences, including visa sanctions or tariffs.
South Sudan had failed to respect the principle that every country must accept the return of its citizens in a timely manner when another country, including the US, seeks to remove them, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
“Effective immediately, the United States Department of State is taking actions to revoke all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and prevent further issuance to prevent entry into the United States by South Sudanese passport holders,” Rubio said.
“We will be prepared to review these actions when South Sudan is in full cooperation,” Rubio said.
It is time for South Sudan’s transitional government to “stop taking advantage of the United States,” he said.
South Sudan’s embassy in Washington did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
African Union mediators arrived in South Sudan’s capital Juba this week for talks aimed at averting a new civil war in the country after its First Vice President Riek Machar was placed under house arrest last week.
South Sudan President Salva Kiir’s government has accused Machar, a longtime rival who led rebel forces during a 2013-18 war that killed hundreds of thousands, of trying to stir up a new rebellion.

Machar’s detention followed weeks of fighting in the northern Upper Nile state between the military and the White Army militia. Machar’s forces were allied with the White Army during the civil war but deny any current links.
The 2013-18 war was contested largely along ethnic lines, with fighters from the Dinka, the country’s largest group, lining up behind Kiir, and those from the Nuer, the second-largest group, supporting Machar.

 


Panama wants ‘respectful’ ties with US amid canal threats

Updated 06 April 2025
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Panama wants ‘respectful’ ties with US amid canal threats

  • The United States and China are the two biggest users of the Panama Canal, which handles five percent of global maritime trade, giving it vital economic and geostrategic importance

PANAMA CITY: Panama hopes to maintain a “respectful” relationship with the United States, even as President Donald Trump has repeated threats to retake the Panama Canal, Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha said Saturday.
His comments came ahead of a visit next week by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a trip made more urgent against the backdrop of Trump’s threats and his allegations of Chinese interference in the canal.
“We discussed illegal migration, organized crime, drug trafficking and (other issues),” Martinez-Acha wrote on X of a call Friday with US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau. “It was a cordial and constructive exchange.”
“I reiterated that all cooperation from Panama will take place under the framework of our constitution, our laws, and the Canal Neutrality Treaty,” he wrote. “Relations with the US must remain respectful, transparent and mutually beneficial.”
The US State Department said Landau had “expressed gratitude for Panama’s cooperation in halting illegal immigration and working with the United States to secure a nearly 98 percent decrease in illegal immigration through the Darien jungle,” an arduous path northward followed by many migrants.
The two officials also discussed the sale last month by the Hong Kong company CK Hutchison to giant US asset manager BlackRock of its concession in ports at either end of the Panama Canal, Martinez-Acha added.
Panama’s comptroller has been conducting an audit of Hutchison since January.
Landau “recognized Panama’s actions in curbing malign Chinese Communist Party influence,” the State Department said.
The deal was set to close on April 2 but has been held up as Chinese regulators pursue an investigation.
The United States and China are the two biggest users of the Panama Canal, which handles five percent of global maritime trade, giving it vital economic and geostrategic importance. It was inaugurated by the United States in 1914 and has been in Panamanian hands since 1999.


Tens of thousands of Spaniards march across the country to protest the growing housing crisis

Updated 06 April 2025
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Tens of thousands of Spaniards march across the country to protest the growing housing crisis

  • The housing crisis has hit particularly hard in Spain, where there is a strong tradition of home ownership and scant public housing for rent

BARCELONA, Spain: Tens of thousands of Spaniards marched in protests held across the European country on Saturday in anger over high housing costs with no relief in sight.
Government authorities said that 15,000 marched in Madrid, while organizers said 10 times that many took to the streets of the capital. In Barcelona, the city hall said 12,000 people took part in the protest, while organizers claimed over 100,000 did.
The massive demonstration of social angst that is a major concern for Spain’s left-wing government was organized by housing activists and backed by Spain’s main labor unions.
The housing crisis has hit particularly hard in Spain, where there is a strong tradition of home ownership and scant public housing for rent. Rents have been driven up by increased demand. Buying a home has become unaffordable for many, with market pressures and speculation driving up prices, especially in big cities and coastal areas.
A generation of young people say they have to stay with their parents or spend big just to share an apartment, with little chance of saving enough to one day purchase a home. High housing costs mean even those with traditionally well-paying jobs are struggling to make ends meet.
“I’m living with four people and still, I allocate 30 or 40 percent of my salary to rent,” said Mari Sánchez, a 26-year-old lawyer in Madrid. “That doesn’t allow me to save. That doesn’t allow me to do anything. It doesn’t even allow me to buy a car. That’s my current situation, and the one many young people are living through.”
Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez said on X that “I share the demand of the numerous people who have marched today: that homes are for living in and not for speculating.”
Lack of public housing
The average rent in Spain has almost doubled in the last 10 years. The price per square meter rose from 7.2 euros ($7.90) in 2014 to 13 euros last year, according to real estate website Idealista. The increase is bigger in Madrid and Barcelona.
Incomes have failed to keep up, especially for younger people in a country with chronically high unemployment.
Spain does not have the public housing that other European nations have invested in to cushion struggling renters from a market that is pricing them out.
Spain is near the bottom end of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries with public housing for rent making up under 2 percent of all available housing. The OECD average is 7 percent. In France it is is 14 percent, Britain 16 percent and the Netherlands 34 percent.
Angry renters point to instances of international hedge funds buying up properties, often with the aim of renting them to foreign tourists. The question has become so politically charged that Barcelona’s city government pledged last year to phase out all its 10,000 permits for short-term rentals, many of them advertised on platforms like Airbnb, by 2028.
Marchers in Madrid on Saturday chanted “Get Airbnb out of our neighborhoods” and held up signs against short-term rentals. In Barcelona, someone carried a sign reading “I am not leaving, vampire,” apparently in a message to would-be real estate speculator seeking to drive him out of his home.
Authorities under pressure
The central government’s biggest initiative for curbing the cost of housing is a rent cap mechanism it has offered to regional authorities, based on a price index established by the housing ministry. The government says the measure has slightly reduced rents in Barcelona, one of the few areas it has been applied.
But government measures have not proven enough to stop protests over the past two years. Experts say the situation likely won’t improve anytime soon.
“This is not the first, nor will it be the last, (housing protest) given the severity of the housing crisis,” Ignasi Martí, professor with the Esade business school and head of its Dignified Housing Observatory, said in an email.
“We saw this with the financial crisis (of 2008-2012) when (a protest movement) lasted until there was a certain economic recovery and a reduction in the social tension,” Marti added.


Protesters tee off against Trump and Musk in ‘Hands Off!’ rallies across the US

Updated 06 April 2025
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Protesters tee off against Trump and Musk in ‘Hands Off!’ rallies across the US

  • Over 1,200 “Hands Off!” demonstrations were planned by more than 150 groups
  • Trump chided for “tearing this country apart” as he goes golfing amid tariff turmoil

Opponents of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk rallied across the US on Saturday to protest the administration’s actions on government downsizing, the economy, human rights and other issues.
More than 1,200 “Hands Off!” demonstrations were planned by more than 150 groups, including civil rights organizations, labor unions, LBGTQ+ advocates, veterans and elections activists. The protest sites included the National Mall in Washington, D.C., state capitols and other locations in all 50 states.
Protesters assailed the Trump administration’s moves to fire thousands of federal workers, close Social Security Administration field offices, effectively shutter entire agencies, deport immigrants, scale back protections for transgender people and cut federal funding for health programs.
Musk, a Trump adviser who owns Tesla, SpaceX and the social media platform X, has played a key role in government downsizing as the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. He says he is saving taxpayers billions of dollars.
Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign advocacy group, spoke at the Washington protest, criticizing the Trump administration’s treatment of the LBGTQ+ community.
“The attacks that we’re seeing, they’re not just political. They are personal, y’all,” she said. “They’re trying to ban our books, they’re slashing HIV prevention funding, they’re criminalizing our doctors, our teachers, our families and our lives. This is Donald Trump’s America and I don’t want it y’all. We don’t want this America, y’all. We want the America we deserve, where dignity, safety and freedom belong not to some of us, but to all of us.”

Thousands of people marched in New York City’s midtown Manhattan. In Massachusetts thousands more gathered on Boston Common holding signs including “Hands off our democracy,” “Hands off our Social Security” and “Diversity equity inclusion makes America strong. Hands off!”
In Ohio, hundreds rallied in the rain at the Statehouse in Columbus.
Roger Broom, 66, a retiree from Delaware County, Ohio, said at the Columbus rally that he used to be a Reagan Republican but has been turned off by Trump.
“He’s tearing this country apart,” Broom said. “It’s just an administration of grievances.”
Hundreds of people also demonstrated in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, a few miles from Trump’s golf course in Jupiter, where he spent the morning at the club’s Senior Club Championship. People lined both sides of PGA Drive, encouraging cars to honk and chanting slogans against Trump.
Archer Moran from Port St. Lucie, Florida, said, “They need to keep their hands off of our Social Security.”
“The list of what they need to keep their hands off of is too long,” Moran said. “And it’s amazing how soon these protests are happening since he’s taken office.”
The president plans to go golfing again Sunday, according to the White House.
Asked about the protests, the White House said in a statement that “President Trump’s position is clear: he will always protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid for eligible beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the Democrats’ stance is giving Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare benefits to illegal aliens, which will bankrupt these programs and crush American seniors.”
Activists have staged nationwide demonstrations against Trump or Musk multiple times since Trump returned to office. But the opposition movement has yet to produce a mass mobilization like the Women’s March in 2017, which brought thousands of women to Washington, D.C., after Trump’s first inauguration, or the Black Lives Matter demonstrations that erupted in multiple cities after George Floyd’s killing in 2020.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, protesters said they were supporting a variety of causes, from Social Security and education to immigration and women’s reproductive rights.
“Regardless of your party, regardless of who you voted for, what’s going on today, what’s happening today is abhorrent,” said Britt Castillo, 35, of Charlotte. “It’s disgusting and as broken as our current system might be, the way that the current administration is going about trying to fix things — it is not the way to do it. They’re not listening to the people.”
“All they’re doing is making sure that they have a parachute for them and their rich friends, and everybody else here that lives here — that makes the gears turn for this country — are just screwed at the end of the day,” she said.
 


US starts collecting Trump’s new 10 percent tariff, smashing global trade norms

Updated 06 April 2025
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US starts collecting Trump’s new 10 percent tariff, smashing global trade norms

  • Trump’s tariffs impact global markets, causing $5 trillion loss in S&P 500 value
  • Exemptions include crude oil, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors

WASHINGTON/JUPITER, Florida: US customs agents began collecting President Donald Trump’s unilateral 10 percent tariff on all imports from many countries on Saturday, with higher levies on goods from 57 larger trading partners due to start next week.
The initial 10 percent “baseline” tariff paid by US importers took effect at US seaports, airports and customs warehouses at 12:01 a.m. ET (0401 GMT), ushering in Trump’s full rejection of the post-World War Two system of mutually agreed tariff rates.
“This is the single biggest trade action of our lifetime,” said Kelly Ann Shaw, a trade lawyer at Hogan Lovells and former White House trade adviser during Trump’s first term.
Shaw told a Brookings Institution event on Thursday that she expected the tariffs to evolve over time as countries seek to negotiate lower rates. “This is a pretty seismic and significant shift in the way that we trade with every country on earth,” she added.

Caption

Trump’s Wednesday tariff announcement shook global stock markets, wiping out $5 trillion in value for S&P 500 index companies by Friday’s close, a record two-day decline. Driven by recession fears, prices for oil and commodities plunged, while investors fled to the safety of government bonds.
Among the countries first hit with the 10 percent tariff were Australia, Britain, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Saudi Arabia despite their having goods trade deficits with the US last year. White House officials have said many countries would run larger deficits with the US if their policies were fairer.
A US Customs and Border Protection bulletin provided a 51-day grace period for cargoes loaded or in transit to the US before 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday. These cargoes need to arrive by May 27 to avoid the 10 percent duty.
Trump’s higher “reciprocal” tariff rates of 11 percent to 50 percent are due to take effect on Wednesday at 12:01 a.m. ET. European Union imports will face a 20 percent tariff, while Chinese goods will be hit with a 34 percent tariff, bringing Trump’s total new levies on China to 54 percent.
Beijing on Saturday said, “The market has spoken” in rejecting Trump’s tariffs. China applied a slew of countermeasures, including extra levies of 34 percent on all US goods and export curbs on some rare earth minerals.
“China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close,” Trump said on Saturday on social media. “THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic.”
Shortly after posting the comment, Trump was spotted arriving at his Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida, reading a New York Post article covering China’s retaliation to US tariffs and the stock market fall.

Israel, Taiwan, Vietnam
“A trade war is in no one’s interest. We must stand united and resolute to protect our citizens and our businesses,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in post on X.
Some world leaders hoped to strike a deal with Trump and avert economic fallout while others weighed countermeasures.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to visit the White House on Monday, sources said, to discuss the new 17 percent tariff on Israel. Media reported Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba of Japan, which faces a 24 percent levy, was seeking a telephone conversation with Trump.
Vietnam, which benefited from the shift of US supply chains away from China after Trump’s first-term trade war with Beijing, agreed on Friday to discuss a deal with the US after Trump announced a 46 percent tariff on Vietnamese imports.
The head of Taiwan’s National Security Council was in Washington for talks that were expected to include the tariffs, a source said. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te huddled with tech executives on Saturday to discuss how to respond to the 32 percent duty imposed on its products.
Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti warned on Saturday against imposing retaliatory tariffs on the United States, saying at a business forum near Milan that doing so could cause damage.
US billionaire Elon Musk, a close Trump adviser, told a political event in Italy by video on Saturday that he hoped to see complete freedom of trade between the United States and Europe, which he described as “a zero tariff situation.”
Canada and Mexico were exempt from Trump’s latest duties but still face a 25 percent tariff imposed recently on goods that do not comply with rules of origin under a North America trade accord.
While Trump’s order exempted 1,000 product categories from the new tariffs such pharmaceuticals, uranium and semiconductors, the administration is considering new duties on some of them.