Disruptions of Friday namaz by right-wing groups should be condemned: Gurgaon Muslim Council

The Gurgaon Muslim Council on Wednesday said that the alleged disruptions of Friday namaz in the city by right-wing groups should be condemned and the community does not have a sufficient number of mosques there.

The Gurgaon Muslim Council on Wednesday said that the alleged disruptions of Friday namaz in the city by right-wing groups should be condemned and the community does not have a sufficient number of mosques there. The GMC was holding a press conference at the Constitution Club of India. According to the GMC, Juma Namaz (Friday afternoon mass prayer) is being offered in open areas of the city for over two decades as the community does not have a sufficient number of mosques there. ''We have come here today to let the nation know that whatever is happening in Gurgaon with respect to Juma Namaz should be condemned because right-wing groups have been harassing Muslims,'' Altaf Ahmad, a member of GMC, claimed. Ahmad said that there are three namaz, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adah and Jumma, where congregating for prayers is mandatory. There are around five lakh Muslims in Gurgaon but not adequate number of mosques to pray, he said. He alleged that since May, 2018, when the first instance of disruption of namaz was reported in the city, there have been many attempts to oppress Muslims. ''There were 108 places where namaz was being offered peacefully without any issue and without any security being provided until May, 2018, when the first attempt was made by right-wing groups. The same people who are harassing Muslims right now, that time, they disrupted Juma Namaz at 10 places. ''We went to the administration asking for security but it was difficult for them to provide security at 108 places. They reduced it to 37 places even after the Muslim community itself offered to reduce it to 60 places,'' Ahmad claimed. The GMC further said that there is a dire need for more mosques in Gurgaon as Muslims are the second largest community residing in the city. Seven people were detained by police in Gurgaon last week over an alleged attempt to disrupt the Friday namaz by raising slogans.

A police official had said some people were detained in the Sector 37 area as a precautionary measure to maintain peace. Several members of some Hindu outfits gathered at the site and raised ''Bharat Mata Ki Jai'' and ''Jai Shri Ram'' slogans as members of the Muslim community were arriving at the open site to offer Friday prayers.

As sloganeering continued and apprehending breach of peace in the area, police had detained seven people.

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