As the controversy over protests against namaz in open spaces continues, several Hindu right-wing groups on Friday, 10 December, showed up in Gurugram's Sector 37 and raised anti-Muslim slogans against offering Friday namaz at the site.
The right wing outfits claimed that they had assembled outside the police station to pay tribute to late Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and other defence personnel killed in the helicopter crash in Coonoor.
Hindu right-wing groups assemble outside Sector 37 site where the Muslim community earlier used to offer namaz.
(Photo: The Quint)
'Our Community's Issue'
Khurshid Rajaka of the Muslim Rashtriya Manch, while speaking to The Quint, said that law and order, peace, and brotherhood are of utmost importance.
"Reading Namaz is important, pooja is also important, but what is more important than both is that peace prevails in Gurugram. Based on this, Namaz won't be read in public spaces, and we will only use spaces that have been agreed upon by the administration," he said.
Rajaka also said that "Gurugram does not belong to just the Hindus or just the Muslims, but to people of all religions and creeds."
On being asked by The Quint whether six Namaz sites will be enough for all the Muslims of Gurugram, he pointed out the differences in situations between "Old Gurugram and New Gurugram".
"In Old Gurugram, masjids and Idgahs are already present. The issue is about New Gurugram, where the working class, and where people from outside of Gurgaon like Noida, Delhi, Faridabad work here and then pray."
Finally, he said that there have been open-minded talks with the Hindu community and with the Gurugram administration, and there shouldn't be any politics on the Namaz issue.
"Namaz is our community's issue. How many times we do it, how we do it, it's our issue," he said.
It is also important to note, however, that the Gurgaon Muslim Council has claimed that whatever decisions that the Muslim Rashtriya Manch, which is the Muslim wing of the RSS, took while negotiating with Hindu groups, excluded the concerns of the other protesting Muslim groups.
The decision surrounding the six designated sites was also made without any consultation with the GMC or other Muslims groups that are fighting for Namaz spaces.
Since September 2021, members of Hindu right-wing groups have been disrupting Friday prayers by the Muslim community in open spaces in Gurugram, despite these sites being designated by the state government for this purpose.
Muslims Offer Namaz in Open as HSVP Yet To Allocate Land: Gurgaon Muslim Council Spokesperson
Meanwhile, Altaf Ahmad, Spokesperson Gurgaon Muslim Council said in a press statement that Muslims of Gurgaon are forced to offer Juma Namaz in open as Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) has not allocated land to them.
"All our applications get rejected and earnest money refunded including our latest application submitted in October, 2021," he added.
"Waqf Board and Administration have not been able to get Waqf Properties back from encroachers for a very long time. Now CM has said that 37 approved sites in open needs to be re-worked between Administration & Muslim Community, then we request him to instruct HSVP to allocate us land in multiple Sectors to build multistorey mosques and that shall be the end of Juma Namaz row."
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday told reporters that namaz in open spaces will not be permitted, and that even the sites that were recently reserved (the 6 sites decided upon by the Muslim Rashtriya Manch and Hindu groups on Monday) will be taken back.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)