Syed Khalique Ahmed | India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI—Even as a 12-year-old Muslim boy was brutally assaulted by an employee of a temple at Dasna in Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh last week and many Hindu temples in Uttarakhand and some other places subsequently put up banners prohibiting entry of Muslims after Dasna incident promoting Islamophobia, Hindu visitors to historic Jama Masjid in Delhi and ‘dargah’ or mausoleums of ‘sufi’ saints in Ajmer and other places are welcomed with open arms. The Muslim boy was beaten when he came out of the Dasna temple after drinking water.
Punya, a girl student of Delhi University, came to Delhi’s historic Jama Masjid, along with her classmate after the Dasna incident. Wearing top and jeans with no scarf, she roamed around everywhere in the mosque that was built by Mughal emperor Shahjahan in 1656. She was just like any other visitor to the mosque, among dozens of others, with many visitors wearing saris and ‘Muslim women having put on ‘burqa.
But nobody questioned her about her religion. Nobody asked her name. She was not asked about her religion or for what purpose she had she come to the mosque. However, at the entrance of the gate she was told that she should not have come in tight dresses because the mosque is a religious place and she should have covered her head with a scarf. But she was not prevented from visiting the mosque. Those managing the entry allowed her to visit the mosque along with her classmate who also happened to be female and wearing similar garments.
“I feel quite comfortable in the mosque. Nobody questioned me about my name and religion. None of the visitors also even asked me about my religion or dress”, Punya told this scribe when questioned if she faced any problem while visiting the mosque. Punya said that the staff of the mosque was very cooperative. Punya was quite apologetic when pointed out about what happened with a Muslim boy at Dasna temple.
Like Punya, Kajal Goyal, a B.Com (final year) student of Delhi University had the same experience. “Nobody asked me my name, religion or questioned about my clothes”, she said. When asked about the purpose of her visit to the mosque, she said that she had come with her boyfriend to see the mosque.
Jama Masjid attracts hundreds of visitors daily and a large number of them happen to be non-Muslims and many of them from outside Delhi. Gajanand, a resident of Mumbai in Maharashtra, came to visit Jama Masjid on March 24 along with his wife and sister. While he was sporting a ‘tilak’ on his forehead indicating his Hindu identity, his wife and sister were wearing ‘saris’ and blouse in Maharashtrian style and they were also sporting ‘bindi’ on their forehead that is generally put on by Hindu women. Gajanand had come with a group to visit Delhi and he decided to visit Jama Masjid as well. “Nobody asked me my faith or even name in the mosque,” said Gajanand.
Avichal Maharaj, a member of the Hare Krishna sect and a resident of Varanasi, also happened to visit the mosque on Thursday with his wife and daughter. As he had come to Haridwar to attend Kumbh festivities, he decided to visit historical places in Delhi as well. His visit to the mosque was a part of this trip. Wearing a saffron robe himself, his wife in ‘sari’ and his daughter in tops and jeans, he was freely moving around in the mosque with his family. He even went up to the central ‘mihrab’ from where the Imam leads the five times prayers but Avichal Maharaj faced no problem.
There were many Hindu families from Bihar and other places visiting the mosque. Some Hindu women were also seen taking rest in the corridors of the mosque that are exclusively meant for prayers by women.
Stating that there was no prohibition on visitors on grounds of religion, Jama Masjid’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) Sabiullah said that hundreds of Hindus and other non-Muslims visited the mosque daily from all over India as also some foreigners. But nobody was ever turned back because of his/her religion. “The only thing is the dress. Nobody wearing a cloth like nicker or shorts above the knees is allowed to enter the mosque. But we don’t turn them back. We provide them gowns at the entry gate, albeit for a fee. Visitors can drink water, wash their hands and face from Masjid’s tap or the water tank and can sit in the mosque for as long as they wish from 9 am when the mosque opens for visitors and the sunset when it is closed for visitors”, said Sabiullah.
“We don’t discriminate on basis of religion”: say trustees of Nizamuddin and Ajmer Sharif mausoleums
Syed Anis Nizami, son of Sajjadanashin of Nizamuddin Dargah in New Delhi, said, “Everybody is welcome to the ‘dargah’ (mausoleum) of Nizamuddin auliya. We don’t discriminate among people on the basis of religion. We are Sufis. We are involved in promoting love and harmony, ‘ganga-jamuni’ Tehzeeb(multi-cuturalism) so that people of different faiths can co-exist and live peacefully.”
Nizami said that “keeping in view the sentiments of Hindu visitors to the ’dargah’, on four days of the week-Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday-we prepare vegetarian ‘langar’ (communal meal) which is generally vegetable ‘pulao’(dish of rice cooked with vegetables). There is non-veg, generally chicken biryani, on remaining three days”.
If Nizami is to be believed, 70 per cent of visitors to the ‘dargah’ are non-Muslims.
Syed Sameer Chishti of Ajmer Sharif Dargah echoed similar views. “People of any religion are welcome to the ‘dargah’ of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti who propagated Unity of God and love for people of all faiths. We don’t discriminate people on basis of religion.”
Masjid ‘Darshan’or ‘visit to mosque’
Many mosques in different parts of India have been organising “Masjid Darshan” (visit to mosque) of “masjid Parichay” programmes for non-Muslims with a view to promote interaction and remove misunderstanding from the minds of non-Muslims about Islam and mosques so that a strong harmonious relationship can be established among communities. Such a day-long prolong was organised by Ishaat-e-Islam Trust Masjid in Abul Fazal Enclave, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi, a year ago. Such events are also regularly organised by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind(JIH) in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Kerala, Bihar and other states during which non-Muslims are also able to witness the performance of ‘namaz’ (Islamic prayers).
Attack on Muslim boy at Dasna was against religion: Avichal Maharaj of Hare Krishna
When questioned about the brutal assault on a 12-year-ol Muslim boy in a temple in Dasna town of Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh by Hindu extremists, Avichal Maharaj condemned it, saying religious places are meant for everybody. “It is wrong to assault somebody because he had come to a temple for just drinking water”, said Maharaj. “what happened at Dasna was against religion. It should not have happened”, said the Hindu spiritual leader.
If the attack on the Muslim boy in Dasna could be called the act of some extremists as the Dasna temple priest is connected with BJP leaders like Giriraj Singh and Kapil Mishra, what happened at Mathura in October last with Faisal Khan of the Khudai Khidmatgar was really stunning because Khan was arrested by the UP police and booked under provisions of Sections 153, 295 and 505 of IPC pertaining to promoting enmity between different groups. He was arrested and later on released on bail. His crime was that he offered afternoon prayers in the temple on the insistence of the locals.
After Dasna incident, banners were put up outside several temples in Uttarkhand and parts of Western Uttar Pradesh banning entry of Muslims. “Putting up banners outside temples banning entry of people belonging to another religion is not conducive to growth of multi-cultural society like India”, said Avichal Maharaj.
There are many Hindu religious leaders like Avichal Maharaj who don’t support the ban on entry of Muslims to Hindu temples. Swami Bhagwatpriya of the Swaminarayan temple in Maninagar, former assembly constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, told indiatomorrow.net that every one was welcome into the Swaminarayan temple. He said that the bodyguards of the founder of the Swaminarayan sect, Swaminarayan Bhagwan, were Muslims.
In Ahmedabad’s popular shrines like Iskcon Temple and 1848-built Hutheesing Jain Temple, which is also a major tourist attraction, people of all communities freely enter their premises, use the washroom and even enjoy the prasad or even lunch.
“Devotees and tourists, irrespective of their caste or religion, can go around the ancient temple which is an architectural marvel”, said a Hatheesing temple official.
–with inputs from Mahesh Trivedi, Ahmedabad.
