Claiming public spaces for namaz
Protests against offering namaz in the open have been going on in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh for quite some time. The matter escalated in after a video of a man protesting against Muslims offering the Friday congregational prayers on public land in Gurgaon, Haryana, a city near New Delhi, went viral on September 29, 2021.
- A full-scale protest followed with dozens of people carrying placards and shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans against Muslims praying every Friday. Protestors led by Hindu organizations like Bharat Mata Vahini have been disrupting Friday prayers for weeks since then. They even organised a Govardhan Puja at the spot in Sector 12A, where Muslims used for performing namaz.
- After weeks of protest, the Gurugram administration had revoked permission to offer Friday congregational prayers at 8 of the 37 public grounds in the city, citing objections from local residents. The protests by the Hindu groups took place despite the fact that the public sites where prayers are offered were sanctioned to them by the local administration.
Reasons given by the Hindu groups for disrupting the namaz were that
- They claim this is a covert way of laying claim to public space
- Muslims blocked roads and pathways every week
- Caused traffic jams and
- Encroached land illegally
- According to these groups, Muslims eventually erect an illegal structure at the namaz place and lay claims on the land in the name of dargah or mosque. There are also accusations of increased incidents of chain snatching and eve-teasing resulting in women feeling threatened.
- Earlier, a video of people offering namaz standing knee-deep in water had gone viral with the claim that Muslims were planning to capture lands by chanting Azaan in the river Ganges. It was later found that the video was not from India but Bangladesh. The footage was of May 2020 when Cyclone Amphan wreaked havoc in large parts of coastal Bangladesh. The cyclone had destroyed the embankment and flooded the Koyra area of Khulna district during Eid-Ul-Fitr forcing the people to offer the Eid namaz standing in knee-deep water.
- There are no sufficient number of mosques in Gurgaon for Muslims to offer congregational prayers. Muslim groups and leaders argue that the government refuses to address this issue- scarcity of closed spaces to offer namaz. They had requested the administration to clear encroachments from 19 sites of the Waqf Board so that these could be utilised for the prayers.
- In the country, Muslims are in minority. Still there is a dearth of mosques to offer the prayers. The government has so far not allowed the use of unused mosques or properties in Gurugram for prayers.
- In Islam, there are stipulated timings for the five daily prayers. Each prayer has a specific window of time in which it must be completed. Therefore, when it is time for a prayer, Muslims turn up at the mosques to offer namaz, particularly for the Friday congregational prayers.
- There may be situations when the mosque might not be that close to their houses or workplaces. Instead of missing the prayers, they choose to offer the prayers on the spot when it is time. So, you can find a Muslim praying at a space convenient to them be it their offices or shops they work at and even at the side of the roads.
- Even if they make it on time, there can be situations when there is an extreme crowd, such as during Jumah prayers or Eid. Lack of space then forces people to pray outside the mosques. This is not done deliberately to cause inconvenience to the public or block the roads or hinder the traffic.
- Disturbing the public in any manner is not allowed in Islam. Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) said “A Muslim cannot disturb anyone with his mouth and actions”
- Islam is a religion of peace and equality. Prophet Muhammed demonstrated this equality to the world by praying together with his companions and also encouraging to pray as a single human race.
- There are Islamic rulings regarding taking another person’s property unjustly. Ghasb in Arabic means to seize something wrongfully and in Fiqh terminology, it means to take the property of others wrongfully or by force.
- Ghasb is haram because Allah says in Surah Al-Baqarah ‘And do not eat up your property among yourselves for vanities, nor use it as bait for the judges, with intent that you may eat up wrongfully and knowingly a little of (other) people’s property (Quran 2:188)
- Prophet (pbuh) said: ‘The property of a Muslim is not permissible unless he gives his consent’.
- The property that is seized by force be it land or moveable goods is therefore not permitted. It should be clear that Muslims who fear the hellfire will not perform the obligatory prayers meant to cleanse and purify one’s mind and soul, with the wrongful intention of capturing or seizing a land or property.
- It barely takes around 20 minutes to wrap up a congregational prayer. So, performing a salah is least likely to cause much public disturbances and blockades unlike other non-Muslim festivals celebrated with much pomp.
- If Muslims are attacked for praying in public places, then the government should be allotting alternate spaces for offering namaz.
- It is nothing but Hindutwa politics at play. Stopping people from worshipping or exercising one’s right to practice a religion of one’s choice, is a blatant threat to freedom of religion.
- The actions of the Hindutwa groups plainly reveals their hatred towards the Muslims and also contribute towards escalating the anti-Muslim sentiments be it social, economic or political.
References:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/5/india-gurgaon-muslims-friday-prayers-hindu-groups-haryana
http://theislamicreality.blogspot.com/2012/09/manners-of-eating-by-imam-ghazali.html