Namaz row: Muslim group says ready to rent space in Gurugram for prayers, seek admin help

Members of the committee said five of their representatives will meet the Gurugram deputy commissioner on Monday to discuss their action plan

Gurugram: A day after right-wing Hindu groups organised Govardhan Puja at a designated namaz site in Gurugram Sector 12 to protest against Friday prayers in public spaces, members of the Muslim community, which formed a 21-member committee on Saturday to resolve the ongoing issue, said that they are ready to take up spaces on rent for their prayers and sought the help of the district authorities for the same.

Over the past two weeks, right-wing outfits had tried to disrupt namaz at the open site in Sector 12. (Vipin Kumar /HT PHOTO)

Members of the committee said five of their representatives will meet the Gurugram deputy commissioner on Monday to discuss their action plan.

“We are ready to take up places on rent to offer namaz but then the residents of the area should not have any problems. We need the support of the government and administration to offer namaz peacefully,” said president of the Jamiat Ulama, Gurugram, Mufti Mohammad Saleem, who is also part of the 21-member committee under the leadership of former Rajya Sabha member Mohammad Adeeb.

He said the committee held several meetings with community members and will share their plan of action on Monday after the meeting with the administration. A meeting was held at Idgah and Sushant Lok-1 on Saturday where a large number of Muslim community members participated and discussed the issue.

“We have taken representation from Muslims staying across various sectors of Gurugram and Manesar so that we can work on finding solutions wherever they are facing challenges in offering Juma Namaz,” said Altaf Ahmad, a member of Gurgaon Nagrik Ekta Manch and a member of the committee.

Ahmad further said that there are two major issues that need to be addressed: “Firstly, the district administration should get all the Waqf Board properties cleared of encroachers so that namaz can be offered there. Secondly, until we are given designated sites, we should be allowed to offer namaz in the open as we are only offering prayers and do not want to hurt anyone’s sentiments.”

Members said that they will also seek an appointment with Haryana chief minister and appeal to him to grant them land for building mosques in Gurgaon as per town planning guidelines. “We will also request for stern action against those who are working towards disturbing the communal harmony of Gurugram.” said Ahmad, adding that they are also seeking appointments with deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala and leader of opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Ahmad pointed out that they were forced to offer namaz in the open because the city lacked mosques, particularly in newer parts of the city. “We have requested the administration to provide us land in different parts of the city so that we can build mosques. But till that happens, the authorities must ensure that namaz is offered peacefully and no one is allowed to create a disturbance,” he said.

Yash Garg, deputy commissioner of Gururgam, said that the administration will hold meetings with both communities before coming up with a solution this month. “We do not want to take any decision in haste, so we are working on all possible solutions to resolve the problem. The members of the Muslim community are meeting me on Monday and they want to discuss some plans to offer namaz at some sites,” he said.

Muslim members said they did not visit the Sector 12 site on Friday to avoid confrontation with right-wing Hindu groups who participated in Govardhan puja at the namaz site on Friday.

Meanwhile, Kulbhushan Bhardwaj, the legal advisor for Sanyukt Hindu Sangarsh Samiti, a Hindu group which organised the Govardhan puja at Sector 12 on Friday, said that they will not disrupt namaz at any location for a month. “They have 30 days to make arrangements but once the deadline is over we will not let anyone offer namaz in open.,” he said.

Over the past two weeks, right-wing outfits had tried to disrupt namaz at the open site in Sector 12 and on October 29, 35 protesters were detained for attempting to disrupt Friday prayers. Representatives of the Muslim community had agreed to relocate from the site, calling for an alternative space and clearing encroachments from Waqf Board properties.

A few days ago, police and administration withdrew permission for offering namaz at 8 out 37 designated sites. Police had earlier issued a statement saying that permission for namaz at the remaining designated sites could be withdrawn if local residents raise objections.