Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi, who heads the Bareilly-based All India Muslim Jamaat, has officially asked Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to remove Maulana Mohibbullah Nadvi from his position as imam of a mosque in the capital, after a charge that a meeting of the Samajwadi Party (SP) was held in its premises.
In a letter to the Delhi Chief Minister, Barelvi said that holding a political event within the mosque has "violated the sanctity of the mosque" and offended the religious sentiments of the Muslim community.
"No other activity could be carried out within the mosque except the offering of prayers to God," Barelvi wrote, while bemoaning the use of a place of worship for political means.
Nadvi, the SP Member of Parliament from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh, is in the eye of the storm. The meeting, Barelvi says, included the presence of a number of high-ranking party leaders, including SP president Akhilesh Yadav, Dharmendra Yadav, Dimple Yadav, Ziaur Rahman Barq, and others.
"People who are impure cannot enter the mosque. Only such people can enter the mosque who are pure," the letter stated, going on to claim that two women also entered and attended the meeting, even though females' entry into that mosque is traditionally forbidden.
He claimed that by permitting this political event, the mosque was exploited to send across the message of the Samajwadi Party's fondness for the Muslim community. "So, I request from you that the Imam of the mosque, Maulana Mohibbullah Nadvi, must be disallowed in the 'Imamat', and a person having Sufi ideology must be appointed as the Imam who is not political," Barelvi urged.
The event has also prompted strong condemnation from the minority wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Its national president, Jamal Siddiqui, has called for Nadvi to be disqualified from parliament for holding an "office of profit" and serving as a salaried imam.
In his letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Siddiqui alleged that Nadvi draws a monthly salary of ₹18,000 from the Delhi Waqf Board for being an imam at a mosque near Parliament.
Referring to Article 102(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution, Siddiqui contended that Nadvi's office as an imam amounts to an "office of profit" since it is sustained by a statutory organization of the Delhi government.
In a separate letter to Chief Minister Gupta, Siddiqui echoed the call for Nadvi’s removal, accusing the Rampur MP of treating the mosque as “his personal property.” He also condemned the alleged hosting of a political meeting within the sacred space.
"On July 22, 2025, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, his wife, Dharmendra Yadav and other MPs, party workers, and Mohibbullah Nadvi had a party meeting at the mosque where Namaz is prayed and took tea and snacks, which goes against the Islamic model code of conduct," Siddiqui said.
He also faulted the appearance of SP MP Dimple Yadav at the mosque, stating that her visit was against traditional norms. "There is a section on the first floor of (the mosque) where women can sit. It is to be noted that Dimple Yadav's attire was also against the mosque rules," he further stated.
Siddiqui also complained that "Mohibbullah Nadvi is treating this mosque as his personal property and is spreading Samajwadi Party there, which cannot be done as an Imam."
The row continues to unfold amidst escalating debate over the proper role of religious institutions in political activity and the constitutional restraints on holding dual public offices.
