The Madhya Pradesh High Court has ruled that the centuries-old Kamal Maula Mosque in Dhar district is a temple dedicated to a Hindu goddess, following a petition claiming the site originally housed a temple. The decision, announced on Friday, has barred Muslims from praying there and allowed Hindus to install an idol under police protection. The mosque, part of the Bhojshala complex, had long been a shared site under an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) agreement permitting both Hindu and Muslim worship on different days.

Muslim leaders and legal representatives have condemned the ruling as a violation of India’s Places of Worship Act of 1991, which preserves the religious character of sites as they existed in 1947. They plan to appeal to the Supreme Court. Critics, including historian Audrey Truschke, described the ASI survey as politically motivated and part of a broader pattern of Islamophobia linked to Hindu nationalism.

The case has revived memories of the Babri Mosque demolition and is seen as part of a wider campaign by Hindu nationalist groups to reclaim sites they allege were once temples, raising concerns about religious freedom and secularism in India.