Friday Namaz prevented at Gurgaon Sector 12A yet again: Report

Yet another controversy has erupted over Muslims offering namaz in public spaces in Gurgaon after people associated with right-wing Hindu groups protested the holding of prayers in Sector 12A, according to an NDTV report.

The protesters occupied the space, which was designated for Friday prayers of Muslims, and claimed to be making a volleyball court. Rows of cow dung cakes spread out last week remained untouched, the report said.

Muslims organisations said they will not offer prayers at the site today (November 12).

Similar protests and opposition by Hindu groups are being seen in various places across Gurgaon over the last few weeks. The Hindu protesters claim that Rohingyas “use the prayers as an excuse to commit crimes”.

Last week, as part of a protest, Hindu groups had held Govardhan Puja at a namaz site in Sector 12 and it was attended by BJP leader Kapil Mishra. A report in The Wire said that “Goli Maaro Saalon Ko, Hindu ke gaddaron ko” slogans were raised.

Mishra said that blocking roads was not part of any religion and asked Wakf Board of the Muslims, which holds huge amount of land to make arrangements for namaz.

While most of the sites are public spaces, there are a few private ones too. The local authorities have said that permission would not be granted to Muslims to offer prayers in public spaces if there is objection from locals.

There are 29 such sites that have been permitted for namaz. This has come down from the earlier 35 agreed to after clashes in 2018 between Hindu and Muslim groups.

The administration has said that a committee — to be constituted by Deputy Commissioner Yash Garg — would hold discussions to find alternative sites for prayers. However, the discussions are yet to take place. Heavy police force is deployed whenever there is such disturbance.