Shahi Imam (L) with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (Photo: Agence France-Presse)
One of India's top Muslim clerics has been asked by the Delhi High Court to explain his decision to pick his son as his successor.
Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the Shahi Imam of India's largest mosque, the Jama Masjid, is meant to anoint his 19-year-old son as Vice-Imam tomorrow. The court said his move "has no legal sanctity" but did not cancel the ceremony; it has asked Mr Bukhari to explain his move by January 28.
Mr Bukhari had been challenged by a series of Public Interest Litigations which contend that the mosque is the property of the Delhi Wakf Board, which administers Muslim religious properties, and the Shahi Imam cannot unilaterally decide his successor.
Mr Bukhari ignited a mega-controversy last month by asking Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to celebrate the anointment of his son at a dinner later this month, but refused to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"The host decides who to invite. And I have no place for Modi in my heart. Modi has not done anything for Indian Muslims even after coming to power. Indian Muslims have not forgiven him for the 2002 Gujarat riots," Mr Bukhari had said. Before the national election, he endorsed the Congress party, which emerged with its worst-ever result.
The Bukharis have been the traditional custodians for almost 400 years of the Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque, since it was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in the 17th century facing the Red Fort in the capital.