Protest at Jama Masjid over remarks on Prophet; unplanned, say residents
NEW DELHI: Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Jama Masjid in Walled City following Friday prayers, and demanded the arrests of suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled BJP leader Naveen Kumar Jindal over their controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammed. The peaceful protest lasted less than 30 minutes, police said, adding that legal action will be taken against the “miscreants”.
Deputy commissioner of police (central) Shweta Chauhan said every Friday, about 2,000 people gather at Jama Masjid for prayers and about 1,500 people had gathered there this Friday as well. “As soon as prayers got over, people started congregating on the steps outside, and about 100-150 of them took out placards and started raising slogans. Eventually, more people joined them and over 300 people started protesting,” she said.
Chauhan said as a norm, there is heavy police deployment near the mosque on Fridays and police are prepared for such emergencies. “Within 10-15 minutes, we dispersed the crowd and ensured that traffic in the area was back to normal. The situation was contained and the area was completely peaceful in no time,” she said.
The shahi imam of Jama Masjid, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, said while one could exercise the democratic right to protest peacefully, people should have informed the mosque administration before staging any protest on its premises. “Since yesterday (Thursday), there was a lot of chatter on social media about protests — some people suggested that there should be speeches after jummah prayers, while others suggested that shops in the area remain closed to express resentment against the prevailing situation. A few people informed me about these plans and I advised them against it. They cancelled the programme and even made loudspeaker announcements that shops will remain open.” he said. “Even I did not make any speech taking into account the sensitive situation. We had no idea that such a protest would take place. Jama Masjid usually sees a huge crowd for jummah prayers. Out of so many people, around 50-60 protested after prayers ended. We don’t know who these people were or where they came from. However, locals, police, and our people requested the protesters to leave. The protest continued for nearly 20 minutes after which people dispersed,” Bukhari said.
Umair Khan, owner of a restaurant outside Jama Masjid, said the protest appeared to be organic, and not a planned one. “It started after people completed their namaz around 1.15pm. People only shared their anger and disappointment at what Sharma said and they’re not wrong. Not just Muslims in Delhi but the community across the world is angry at that statement,” he said. Another resident,
Mohammed Rashid (47), who owns a book shop, said instead of demanding Sharma’s arrest, she should be taught what Islam preaches.
“These people should study Islam before making such derogatory comments and ask scholars if they don’t understand. Calling for her arrest will only make her more hateful towards Muslims,” he said.
There were some traders who were also worried about the protest impacting their businesses.
Bablu alias Raheesuddin, who run a restaurant, said people may be protesting for the right reasons. “But if such matters get out of hand, then our markets will remain shut for days and it will impact the business. We have just recovered from the Covid-induced lockdown and can’t afford another closure.”