Namaazis booked in UP

In Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, the police registered an FIR against 250 Muslims for offering namaz on the road. As per inspector Satyaveer Singh, the police had met with the Peace Committee regarding Eid and told them that Eid namaz must be offered only in Eidgahs and mosques and if there is too much overcrowding, they would make special arrangements. Reportedly, even section 144 was imposed and thus when people came out on the streets to offer namaaz, they were held in violation, the police removed them from the street so they started offering Namaaz sitting in the graveyard and an empty plot near Idgah.

While one may think that Muslim are obstructing the roads offering namaaz during Eid, one is not aware of how Eid has been traditionally celebrated in the various parts of the country. A Twitter user, Darab Farooqui, wrote a rather beautiful account of how, growing up, he offered namaaz on the Jaipur-Delhi National Highway for the last 20 years at a location known as the idgah locally. Eidgah is a term used in South Asian Islamic culture to refer to the open-air enclosure usually located outside the city that is reserved for Eid prayers offered in the morning of Eid al-Fitr (Mithi Eid in Local parlance) and Eid al-Adha (Bakra Eid), he explained. He further said that when he was a kid, the Highway did not see much traffic. He added that as over the years populations grew or families grew larger, people had to spill over from the designated spots of prayer even though roads are not ideal spots for prayer.

“In 2023, they make it appear to be some grand conspiracy, as if it’s a plot to disrupt the nation’s peace. As if we intend to take over the highways. When it’s just something we’ve learned to live with. This is an Indian Muslim’s lived experience… But now you understand why Muslims pray on roads. It’s only on rare occasions. We don’t want to do it, but we have no choice,” he added.

This is the Jaipur-Delhi National Highway. And because Jaipur is my hometown and I grew up there, I must have performed Eid Namaz on this very road for at least 20 years.

A thread about how wonderful growing up was. https://t.co/SdDjmBjPIy

— Darab Farooqui (@darab_farooqui) April 24, 2023

Premchand’s Eidgah

In Dehradun, Sri Chaitanya Techno School celebrated Eid by performing a story written by popular Hindi and Urdu writer Premchand called “ Eidgah ”. This did not go down well with certain right wing groups there who started protesting about the same and alleged that students were made to offer namaz. The right wing extremists reached the school on Monday and vandalized it while sitting in protest and creating a ruckus. The City Magistrate directed the District Education Officer to submit a report in this matter within 7 days. The school denied these allegations and said that only the skit was performed and no students were not made to offer namaz.

This is from Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Hindutva groups vandalized Sri Chaitanya Techno School alleging students were forced to pray Namaz and study Urdu.

School Management says that they organized a cultural event where ‘Eidgah’ play was staged. pic.twitter.com/BFxbRlOryQ

— Md Asif Khan‏‎‎‎‎‎‎ (@imMAK02) April 25, 2023

This is from #Dehradun, #Uttarakhand.

Members of various #Hindutva groups entered Sri Chaitanya Techo school and created a ruckus over teaching Urdu and organizing an event to celebrate #EidUlFitr.#HateSpeech #HateCrime pic.twitter.com/Xgfkq3JgBf

— Hate Detector (@HateDetectors) April 26, 2023

It can be seen in the video above, that a police officer is at the site while these miscreants created ruckus and instead of dealing with them with a firm hand, he can be seen smiling at them and trying to pacify them calmly, as if they did not commit any crime!

Little did Premchand know that while he, being a Hindu, studied in a madrassa and lived peacefully with his Muslim brethren, his communally harmonious works would be badmouthed and slighted by such right wing groups. Eidgah is one of the most well known stories by Premchand, written under the pen name ‘Nawab Rai’. It is a story of a four-year-old orphan living with his grandmother who, on the day of Eid, buys a pair of tongs for her because he sees her burning her fingers while cooking. While he is mocked for the same by his friends, he offers some clever arguments to them. Ultimately, he gets scolded by his grandmother for not buying some toy or food at the Eid fair but she then bursts into tears looking at how thoughtful the child is.

As one can see, it is just a story about a little boy who cares about his grandmother and it is only their religious identity and the name of the story (Eidgah) that bother these right wing groups.

Artist Shaan trolled for Eid wish

Artist and singer, Shaan who has sung many songs in Hindi movies was trolled on his social media account for posting a picture of him wearing a skull cap from an old song of his. He had put it up for wishing everyone Eid Mubarak but this was the bone of contention for right wing trolls who wasted no time in calling him out, in rather large numbers and that really disturbed Shaan. The song was “Karam kar de” and was a qawwali song where Shaan had donned a skull cap and was shown reading namaz in the song’s video. After he noticed the reactions in large numbers saying why did he have to do this being a Hindu. He thus posted a video recording taking a stand on this and said that last week he had gone to Golden Temple and covered his head and prayed there but there was no backlash then so he wondered why he was trolled for this.

“If we wear some outfit pertaining to a particular festival, it does not mean that my religious beliefs would get distorted. Please change your thoughts,” he said. “How can we progress if we keep such backward views,” he questioned.

I am a Hindu, an Indian and I know that every festival should be celebrated together. I grew up in Bandra and it is mostly a Christian and Muslim populated area and most of my friends are Muslims and I never got this feeling we are different from each other. I feel bad that such views are spreading. I know my views are right. An Indian is one who celebrates every festival together and respects all religions,” he added.

Hathras

In UP’s Hathras, BLS International School came under fire after a self-proclaimed Hindu leader, Deepak Sharma protested outside the school claiming that the school was forcing students to read namaz, while the school was celebrating World Heritage Day. The school denied the allegations but at the same time suspended two teachers. Hathras SDM Ashutosh Kumar told The Indian Express that the principal, Sonia McPherson, along with teachers Kambar Rizwan and Irrfan Elahi have been suspended and that an inquiry is going on. The protests were later joined by some parents as well and posters saying ‘I am not secular’, ‘BLS Principal, Chairman and Staff Apologise’ and ‘Make kids read Hanuman Chalisa, Save Hindu Religion’ were posted on the school gates.

One school student refuted these claims and told IE, “I was at the assembly to attend the World Heritage Day celebrations. We were only reciting and singing patriotic songs and prayers from our school diary. There was no namaaz. My parents also came when they heard about the protests. I later explained how none of this was true. They suspended our teachers and principal for no reason. It was a regular celebration…”

Tripura content creator thrashed

A vlogger in Tripura was thrashed by a local BJP leader for making a video celebrating Eid with some of his Muslim friends. The song which they were performing asked people not to get divided along communal lines and to celebrate the festival of Eid in harmony and together. The attack was filmed on video and a female BJP leader, BJP Panchayat vice president Anu Mura Singh can be heard saying in Bengali, “You are doing these things even though you are a Hindu. You should be beaten and spanked. You are ruining all the honor of Hindu, your parents and family.”

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The post Hindutva’s growing intolerance over gathering for Eid in society appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Eid prayers were disrupted by miscreants in Uttar Pradesh’s Allahabad on Saturday. The police filed an FIR against Rahul Maurya, Yashwant, Atul, and 12 unidentified miscreants. The incident was reported from Maudostpur village whereby stones were allegedly pelted by the miscreants during Eid prayers thus injuring one young man named Mohammed Ebaad.

The complaint was registered by the Eidgah committee president Rehmat Ullah who also identified three of the miscreants. This is not the first time the Eidgah was attacked. Earlier too, miscreants tried to break the boundary wall but no police action was taken, reported Siasat.

Yesterday, a Hindutva mob pelted stones during Eid prayers in Allahabad. In this, Md. Ebaad got injured. Police chased and caught Yashwant and filed an FIR against Rahul, Atul, and 12 unidentified miscreants for allegedly throwing stones at people offering Eid namaz at the… pic.twitter.com/KtollwixVV

— Meer Faisal (@meerfaisal01) April 23, 2023

Last year as well Eid prayers were disrupted in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur where stones were pelted and bikes were set on fire injuring 16, including 4 policemen. The dispute was over replacing a Hindu flag with a Muslim flag at the statue of a freedom fighter. Since, in the area, Muslims occasionally offered namaaz during Eid and raised Muslim flags, there was a dispute over removing the flags of Lord Parashuram. Notably, celebrations of Eid clashes with Lord Parshuram Jayanti.

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Harmony vs disharmony in 2 states: Kerala temple welcomes Muslims; MP temple fires Muslims

Communal harmony, Mumbai style

Muslim man peacefully offering Namaz at UP railway station “offends” Hindutva leader

Muslims attacked while offering Namaz in Haryana

The post Stones pelted during Eid namaaz in Allahabad appeared first on SabrangIndia.

As the holy month of Ramzan comes to an end, mosques all over the country are asking the faithful to pray at home on Eid given the Covid-19 lockdown situation in the country. In Guwahati, the city’s oldest mosque, Burha Jame Masjid is spreading the message of ‘Ghar pe namaaz’ after it decided to not hold public prayers in its premises this year keeping in mind the safety of the people during the pandemic.

The mosque committee took the decision on Tuesday after it observed that confusion was brewing among Muslims in the city following lockdown relaxations. Nizamul Haque, general secretary of the Burha Jame Masjid, told The Telegraph, “With lockdown 4.0 easing public movement, many in the community thought that they will be able to offer namaz on Id day with social restrictions. But we don’t want any such confusion to exist. So we have decided not to hold public prayers this Id for the safety of all. For now, it’s important to observe social distancing strictly. We want everyone to pray at home.”

He added, “It’s time to pray for a better future for the entire human race. If we can overcome this crisis, we will get enough opportunity to celebrate in future. But going shopping in defiance of all safety norms is not advisable. We urge everyone to stay away from gatherings.”

The mosque committee appealed to people in the state to follow lockdown restrictions and refrain from extensive Eid shopping, after reports of parents shopping with their children and people crowding markets even during the lockdown came in.

In West Bengal too, the Bengal Imams Association (BIA) thanked its members for praying from home during the month of Ramzan and urged that they follow the practice up until Eid-Ul-Fitr and offer namaaz at home with their family on the day of the festival, Hindustan Times reported.

BIA Chairman Md Yahia said that the procedure of observing prayers at home during the pandemic had changed as men and women were now offering prayers together at home.

He said, “Remember that your wife, daughter, sister can offer prayers along with you. Isn’t that a welcome development,” urging that every Muslim pray for a coronavirus-free mankind.

The Nakhoda Masjid, one of the prominent mosques in Kolkata too said that there wouldn’t be any gathering for prayers on the day of Eid, asking people to pray from home with their families.

Meanwhile, an online prayer meet

The Ma’Din Academy in Malappuram, Kerala, which holds one of the largest prayer meets during Ramzan, held a mega online prayer meet on Tuesday. Thousands of Sunni followers from all over the world attended this online prayer meet led by Ma’Din Chairman Syed Ibrahim Khaleel Bukhari, reported The Hindu.

During the prayer meet, Syed Bukhari called upon the followers to act responsibly in the times of the pandemic. He said everyone had the responsibility to safeguard not only their lives but that of others too. 

“Each human life is sacred. It is a blessing from God. No harm or damage can be done to any life because of our carelessness,” he said.

Congratulating Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Health Minister KK Shailaja on their handling of the pandemic, he said that harming a life through negligence or irresponsible behaviour constituted a great sin.

He called upon the people to cooperate with the government and the health workers in the fight against COVID-19. “It is very much part of our faith. It is our responsibility. That’s why we all have stayed at home by closing down our mosques even during the holiest month of Ramzan. The vigil should continue through Id-ul-Fitr as well,” he said.
 

Related:

Eid amidst lockdown: Permission sought for Itikaf prayers in mosques
Covid-19: Muslim religious leaders and groups urge people to pray at home during Ramzan
Congregational prayers at mosques partially suspended due to Covid-19 outbreak

The post Pray at home: Mosques urge citizens to offer namaaz at home on Eid appeared first on SabrangIndia.