Muslims hold protests outside mosques in several parts of India

Crowds call for quick prosecution of Nupur Sharma and Navin Jindal who have made derogatory remarks about Prophet Mohammed

Protesters at the Jama Masjid in New Delhi on Friday.:PTI photo

TT Bureau   |   Srinagar, Lucknow, New Delhi   |   11.06.22 : Muslims held mostly peaceful protests outside mosques after Friday prayers in several parts of India, calling for quick prosecution of the now-suspended BJP spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Navin Jindal who have made derogatory remarks about Prophet Mohammed.

Clashes between protesters and police were seen in a few places such as Ranchi, Allahabad and Bhaderwah town of Jammu.

A small group held placards and chanted slogans outside Jama Masjid in Delhi, with neighbourhood residents joining in. The police persuaded the crowd of about 300 to disperse — after continuous TV coverage of alleged communal tension in the area —and said action would be taken against those protesting without permission.

Ahmed Bukhari, the Shahi Imam of the mosque, told reporters: “I don’t know who these protesters were. They do not have our permission, nor has anything been discussed. We discourage people from doing politics on this issue.”

Varanasi — home to the Gyanvapi mosque, the subject of a controversy that triggered Sharma’s remarks — remained peaceful. The mosque management had appealed to people to offer Friday prayers at any mosque near their home and ignore rumours. As a result, only about 20 people offered prayers at the Gyanvapi.

Protests were reported from many places in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Telangana and Jammu and Kashmir. Central forces were deployed in several places although most of the demonstrations were peaceful.

Curfew was imposed in a part of Ranchi after police-protester clashes during an attempt to shut shops.

Friday’s protests outside the Jama Masjid in Delhi come after Yati Narasinghanand — an Uttar Pradesh monk known to deliver hate speeches — announced he would visit the mosque to engage the faithful in an open debate on Islamic scriptures.

The Ghaziabad district administration has served Narasinghanand with a notice to desist from incitement, and Delhi police have booked him.

Protests took place in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar locality as well.

The Popular Front of India hit out at the parallel hate-speech cases the Delhi police have registered — against Sharma, Jindal and Narasinghanand as well as against Muslim politicians, activists and social media users.

“While the present issue is all about BJP national leaders insulting the Prophet of Islam, rather than addressing the real issue, these FIRs are basically equating the actions of the hate speakers with that of those who demand action against it,” the statement said.

“Rather than controlling the hate speakers, the intention behind the FIRs is to hush up the issue and prevent people from speaking against it.”

An outfit called the Hindu Sena has called for a march in East Delhi on Saturday in support of Sharma.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has appealed to “Islamic scholars and intellectuals to not participate in those television debates whose sole intention is to make a mockery and insult Islam and Muslims”.

Sharma’s comments had come during a TV debate on the Gyanvapi mosque.

Allahabad clashes

Uttar Pradesh witnessed police-protester clashes in Allahabad, Moradabad, Firozabad and Saharanpur.

Allahabad Zone additional director-general (ADG) of police Prem Prakash blamed the violence in Atala locality on “members of the masjid, Samajwadi Party, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Left parties”.

“They used children as a shield and threw stones and crude bombs at the police,” said Prakash, who later led a police flag march with a rifle in hand.

The police have taken into custody about a dozen people in Allahabad and about 100 across Uttar Pradesh — including 21 from Deoband in Saharanpur, 12 from Moradabad and 20 from Firozabad — on rioting or incitement charges. Videos purportedly show police firing in the air in Allahabad.

Uttar Pradesh director-general of police D.S. Chauhan said a Rapid Action Force jawan was injured in the Allahabad violence. “Mild force was used to maintain peace at some places,” he said.

Kanpur, Bareilly, Aligarh, Jhansi and Lalitpur too witnessed protests.

Jammu tensions

In Jammu’s Muslim-majority Chenab Valley, protesters defied a curfew and clashed with the forces, a day after controversial social media posts and inflammatory speeches had caused tensions to flare.

Protests also broke out in Srinagar’s Batmaloo locality, and Friday prayers were not allowed at the city’s main Jamia Masjid.

Authorities had clamped curfew on parts of the Chenab Valley on Thursday night after large crowds from two communities held demonstrations in different areas.

“It all began with a (social media) post. There were counter-posts and statements which hurt a particular community,” Jammu ADG Mukesh Singh told reporters. “The situation is under control now.”

Residents said protests had broken out in Bhaderwah town in the Chenab Valley after an anti-Islam post on social media.

A local cleric later publicly threatened to behead Sharma and a Jammu-based journalist, who had purportedly supported her, if the government failed to act against them.

A police officer said a case had been registered in Bhaderwah on the charges of insulting religious beliefs and criminal intimidation.

Officials said Internet services were snapped in Bhaderwah and Kishtwar towns as a precaution. Mobile Internet services too were suspended in parts of Kashmir.

The situation in Jammu and Kashmir has been tense since Wednesday after a BJP politician and two other Right-wing leaders supported Sharma’s comments, prompting the police to lodge an FIR.

Union minister Jitendra Singh, whose constituency of Udhampur includes the Chenab Valley, appealed for peace in Bhaderwah.

Security forces were deployed in large numbers at sensitive places across Kashmir to prevent protests.