No disruptions for second week, people offer namaz at 10 locations in Gurugram

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Muslims offered Friday namaz at 10 locations in Gurugram, with no disruption reported from anywhere, police said, adding that adequate deployment was made at all places.

Senior police officers aware of the deployment said the community prayers were performed at Shankar Chowk, Udyog Vihar, Palam Vihar, and sectors 12, 29, 44, 10, 37 and 45. They also said that Hindu right-wing activists were kept away from the namaz, and the Muslims were asked to observe appropriate social distancing.

This was the second consecutive week when Friday namaz being performed in public places were not disrupted by the Hindu outfits who have maintained that the weekly prayers cannot be allowed in open spaces and described it as encroachment. They have been protesting against it since 2018. The Muslims have said that they were forced to perform community namaz on Fridays since there were not enough mosques in Gurugram.

To be sure, currently there are no designated sites (open public spaces) for performing namaz in Gurugram. There were 37 sites initially which were earmarked by the Gurugram administration. These were brought down to 20 last year. However, after the Haryana chief minister Mahohar Lal Khattar announced on December 10 that performing namaz cannot be tolerated in open spaces, all sites were cancelled. The administration is yet to earmark new places for prayers.

Senior officers quoted above said some members of Sanyukt Hindu Sangharsh Samiti, an umbrella body of Hindu groups which is leading protests against namaz in open spaces, gathered at Sector 44, Sector 37, Udyog Vihar and Shankar Chowk before the namaz in the afternoon, but were turned away by police teams deployed there.

Rajiv Yadav, assistant commissioner of police, said teams were deployed at all sites and Muslims offered prayers peacefully. “We did not let anyone near the namaz sites, and teams were on alert until the prayers were finished,” he said.

Yadav said they had cautioned the Hindu groups in advance not to create a ruckus, and parked police vans near the locations to detain them. “We also ensured that everyone coming for namaz followed Covid-19 protocol and maintained social distance and were wearing masks,” he said.

At Shankar Chowk, at least 500 people performed namaz in six batches (jamaat), and 300 prayed in different batches at the nearby Shyam Chowk, according to Mohammad Shamoon and Qari Aarif, who led the prayers at these two sites. At a park in Udyog Vihar, around 350 people performed prayers in different groups to ensure social distancing.

Shamoon, associated with Gurugram Imam Sangathan, said they need at least 15 places in the city to accommodate the rush of people on Friday. “This is the fourth Friday prayer offered at this spot (Shankar Chowk). It remained peaceful. There was no disruption. Earlier, we offered namaz at Peepal Chowk, but it was shifted after the protest. Since the six spots have been fixed, police ensured security till the end of prayers,” he said.

Mohammed Akil, one of those who had come for prayers at Shankar Chowk, said working people even from Delhi come to offer Friday prayers. “We are working professionals, and we congregate only on Fridays. You can see that we are praying peacefully, and following social distancing norms,” he said.

Maulana Aarif, who also prayed at the same place, said the number of people who join the prayers has reduced. “Earlier, at least 1,000 persons used to gather, but now hardly 300 come for prayers due to Covid-19. There are 12 to 13 mosques in the city, but all of them are in old Gurugram. A large number of Muslims work in Udyog Vihar, it is not possible for them to go there,” he said.

Hindu groups said despite the chief minister saying that namaz cannot be allowed in open spaces, the police did not take any action.

Mahavir Bhardwaj, state president of the Sanyukt Hindu Sangharsh Samiti, said, “We will write to the chief minister regarding the violation of his directions, and will request him to take action against people offering prayers in open. We are not disrupting anymore but this cannot continue. Police and administration will have to take some serious action, else they (the Muslims) will continue to encroach upon public places,” he said.

Altaf Ahmad, spokesperson, Gurgaon Muslim Council, which has been spearheading the Muslim side so far, said that namaz was being offered peacefully for the last two weeks. “There were no disruptions reported from any sites on Friday. Police and administration have been kind to us, and we hope that we will continue to get their support,” he said.

Ahmad appealed to Muslims in the city to avoid Friday congregations in view of the latest wave of Covid-19 cases. “Muslims have shown restraint during the first and second Covid wave, I expect them to show the same now as well, and not come out for namaz congregations,” he said.

Right-wing groups have been protesting against Friday namaz in open public spaces in Gurugram for the past three years. The Muslims have asked the administration to allot them spaces to build new mosques.


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