- The Hindu leader called for the mosque’s speakers to be turned off
- The mosques in Mumbai are complying with the demands after police intervention
- The dispute is the last point of tension between Indian Muslims and Hindus
- India’s ruling party says it does not discriminate against anyone
MUMBAY, May 8 (Reuters) – Sitting in an office lined with books overlooking a giant prayer hall, Mohammed Ashfaq Qazi, chief preacher at Mumbai’s largest mosque, checked a decibel meter attached to loudspeakers before calling for worship. .
“The volume of our adhan (call to prayer) has become a political issue, but I do not want it to take a public turn,” said Kazi, one of the most influential Islamic scholars in the vast west coast of India.
As he spoke, he pointed to loudspeakers attached to the minarets of the ornate sand-colored Juma Masjid in Mumbai’s old shopping districts.
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Kazi and three other senior clerics from Maharashtra, where Mumbai is located, said more than 900 mosques in the western part of the state have agreed to turn down the volume of prayer calls following complaints from a local Hindu politician.
Raj Thackeray, leader of a regional Hindu party, called for mosques and other places of worship to be kept within noise limits in April. If they do not, he said his followers will sing Hindu prayers in front of mosques in protest.
Tucker, whose party has only one seat in the 288-member state assembly, said he simply insisted that court rulings on noise levels be enforced.
“If religion is a personal matter, then why are Muslims allowed to use loudspeakers all 365 days (of the year)?” Thackeray told reporters in Mumbai, India’s financial center and the capital of Maharashtra.
“My dear Hindu brothers, sisters and mothers come together; be one in removing these speakers, “he said.
The leaders of India’s 200 million Muslims see the move, which coincided with the holy holiday of Eid, as another attempt by hard Hindus to undermine their rights to free worship and religious expression, with the tacit consent of the ruling Hindu Nationalist Party Bharatiya Janata. . ).
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The BJP did not respond to a request for comment on Tucker’s initiative. He denies targeting minorities and says he wants progressive change that benefits all Indians.
In Juma, Masjid Kazi said he had complied with Takari’s demands to reduce the risk of violence between Muslims and Hindus.
Bloody clashes erupted sporadically in India since independence, most recently in 2020, when dozens of people, mostly Muslims, were killed in Delhi following protests against the citizenship law, which Muslims said discriminated against.
As hardline Hindu leaders sought to undermine Islam, Kazi said, “We (Muslims) must remain calm and peaceful.”
The state took Thackeray’s initiative seriously.
Senior police officers met with religious leaders, including Kazi, earlier this month to ensure microphones were turned off as they feared clashes in Maharashtra, home to more than 10 million Muslims and 70 million Hindus.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Saturday, removing hundreds of protesters by truck.
“Under no circumstances will we allow anyone to create tension in the community in the country, and the court’s order must be obeyed,” said VN Patil, a senior police officer in Mumbai.
A high-ranking official from Tucker’s party said the initiative was not intended to separate Muslims, but aimed to reduce the “noise pollution” created by all places of worship.
“Our party is not reassuring the minority community,” Kirtikumar Shinde said, adding that police had issued warnings to 20,000 party workers this month.
The question of calls to prayer extends beyond Maharashtra. BJP politicians in three states have called on local police to eliminate or restrict the use of loudspeakers in places of worship.
Uttar Pradesh, the deputy chief minister of the country’s most populous state, said more than 60,000 unauthorized speakers had been removed from mosques and temples.
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Edited by Mike Colette-White and Raisa Kasolowski
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