Sunday, January 23, 2011

Qanati Masjid: Another victim of state actors in Delhi

By Manzar Bilal

New Delhi: In yet another attempt to occupy Muslim religious places, the police in connivance with local Residents Welfare Association (RWA are preventing Muslims to restore the centuries-old Qanati Masjid located at Zor Bagh area under Lodhi Road police station in New Delhi.

In a crucial order on 18th Jan. 2011 the Delhi High Court cleared the way to restore the Qanati Masjid by dismissing the claims by several government and local authorities including Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Residents Welfare Association (RWA), New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI.) The HC not only passed the judgment that the land belongs to Delhi Waqf Board but also directed NDMC to submit its work plan for repair of the Masjid before the court on 24th Jan.



Qanati Masjid where dogs are sleeping


The order gave a sigh of relief to the local Muslims but unfortunately it did not last long. On 20th January, as a part of preparation for Chahallum due on 25th, the local Muslims started to clean the Masjid. This virtuous deed earned them the ire of RWA and police arrested five Muslims from the spot. They were freed later in the night after the intervention of several Muslim leaders.

Qanati Masjid is one of the many Masjids and Muslim religious places in the national capital that have been deserted for years due to illegal encroachment by government agencies and dubious role of police.



Police on duty at Qanati Masjid


Qanati Masjid is registered with Waqf Board and Anjuman-e-Haidri, a local body authorized by Waqf Board, responsible to look after the Masjid. The Anjuman also looks after Safaid Masjid, Dargah Shah-e-Mardan, Bada Karbala and Chota Karbala. All are on the Waqf Board land.

“We have all kinds of documents to prove that the Masjid is on the Waqf land and in 2005 also the HC delivered the judgment in the favor of the Masjid but Residence Welfare Association (RWA) and NDMC with the help of local police always gave the matter a communal colour” said Syed Bahadur Abbas Naqvi, Waqf Secretary and Trustee of Dargah Shah-e-Mardan, while talking to TwoCircles.net.



Main gate of dargah blocked by police on the complaint of local RWA


“There are 500 acres of Waqf land in the locality. Most of the land is occupied by local people. Leave alone the land on which they built houses, when we try to restore the land where the sign of religious structure remains till today, they object and through money power they use police to harass us” he told TCN.


History of the mosque

Qanati Masjid was built nearly 400 years ago in Mughal period and remained inhabited until the fateful incident of partition took place and barring few, Muslims of the locality migrated. Due to a small number of Muslims there, the regular five times prayers halted at the Masjid but occasional prayers such as in Muharram, Rabiul Awwal and Chahallum have always been offered there.



Bada Karbala


With the passage of time the wall of the Masjid fell down and there left no bar for strayed dogs and other animals to enter the exact place of the prayer in the Masjid. In 1995, Muslims of the area planned to construct walls around the Masjid to prevent such things. But as soon as they came to the Masjid to construct the wall, RWA complained to Police and police not only stopped the work but it also registered case against several Muslims alleging they were occupying DDA land turning the deaf ear to the fact that the land belongs to Waqf Board.

Where problem lies

Actually after Muslims left the place during partition, Hindus who migrated from Pakistan at that time populated the area. They not only occupied the Waqf properties but also tried to put the remaining small number of local Muslims under pressure.

“The root of the problem is that hardly 100 Muslims are living here that too are poor and daily waged while the colony is populated with migrated Hindus who are wealthy. They fear that if today Masjid is restored then may be Waqf Board will vacate the land that they illegally occupied. Therefore, they spend heavy amount on police to serve their purpose” said Abbas Naqvi.

Besides illegal buildings on the Waqf land, there are 6 big plots that are registered to the Board but whenever officials try to wall the land, Police stops them saying that it is DDA or NDMC land. They have illegally occupied the surrounding land of Dargah-e-Shahe Mardan and due to this encroachment one of the two gates of the dargah has been blocked.



Dargah Shah-e-Mardan


“There were only two parties -- Waqf Board and RWA-- but to complicate the issue several government bodies were involved including NDMC, DDA, Archaeological Survey of India and Delhi Police” he said.

“A person is running a factory of wooden items on the land of Waqf Board that is at back side of Qanati Masjid. We have complained several times to the police but all in vain. Recently, we have filed plea in the court against it” he added.

Timeline of cases

The case which was registered against Muslims for fencing the Masjid had been a tool for police to harass them for years. In 2004, Waqf Board filed a petition in Delhi HC seeking permission for restoration of the Qanati Masjid and fencing the all lands come under the Anjuman-e- Haidri. The court has given nod for that in 2005 but Police and DDA did not let it happen.

The Waqf Board filed contempt plea in HC in 2007. While hearing the plea, the court pulled the NDMC and Police and directed to get repair and walling works done. But again the court order fell on the deaf ears.

In 2010, Waqf Board once again went to HC seeking justice and court on the basis of proofs allowed the repairing of the Masjid.

“On one hand DDA and police demolished Jangpura Masjid in wee hours referring court’s order and on the other hand they had not been following court order in the case of Qanati Masjid. What is it if not blatant discrimination against Muslims?” asked Mr. Naqvi.



Wood factory on Waqf land


Recent incident

On 26th Dec. 2010, following the court order some members of the Muslim community were cleaning the Masjid while some others including women were busy in prayer. It was when that on the complaint of RWA a large number of Police came and arrested 85 people including women and children and put them in lock-up for 8 hours.

This act of police sent a wave of anger among Muslims across the country. The protest rallies were held at several parts of the country including a rally at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi where 2571 people courted arrest. Shahi Imam Maulana Ahmad Bukhari, LJP MLA Shoib Iqbal, RJD MLA Asif Mohammad Khan strongly raised the voice against the incident and met CM Sheila Dikshit on the matter. She assured them to solve the matter and directed the officer of concerned departments but it also did not make any difference and the matter remained unsolved.

In the first week of January 2011, a petition was filed in the HC against the non-compliance of the court order and illegal action of the police. The HC issued notices to all parties involved in the case to appear before the court. While hearing the petition on 18th Jan. the court clearly pronounced that the land is owned by Waqf Board and directed the local police to get the repairing work done in its care. But unfortunately the police rather than implementing the court order arrested Muslims for cleaning the Masjid.

Some questions

Some questions arise here: Why has the police been violating the court orders so many times? Who are behind the curtain and backing police for such condemnable deed? Does government itself has two faces --one for Muslims and another for anti-Muslims. Does the court has no power to curb such violating act or whole system is working against Muslims?

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Ulema form association to standardize madrasa syllabus

By Manzar Bilal

New Delhi: With the aim to standardize the syllabus of madrasas in the country and to create mutual connection among them, a platform namely Rabita-al-Jaamiaat-al-Hindia’ (Association of Indian Madrasas) was launched at a conference of Ulema, clerics and madrasa authorities held here today at the Convention Centre of Jamia Hamdard.


The Ulema associated with Madarsas spread in different parts of the country attended the conference and discussed the matter. The conference was organized under the banner of Muslim Students Organization of India (MSO) at the call of Dr. Umar Abdullah Kamel, Director of Foreign Students Affairs at Al-Azhar Islamic University, Cairo, Egypt.



L-R: Maulana Yasin Akhtar Misbahi ,Mufti Bashiruddin Qadri ,Dr. Umar Abdullah Kamel, Maulana Idris Bastavi and Dr. Ghulam Yahya Anjum



“The main purpose of the conference is to bring the Ulema at one platform to discuss the necessary changes in the syllabus of Madarsas to bring them in conformity with Al-Azhar Islamic University and other Universities of Arab countries” said Advocate Shanawaz Warsi of MSO.

“Currently, students of only a few Madarsas in India are able to get admission in the foreign Universities like Al-Azhar while others are rejected due to below standard syllabus and Arabic education. So, there is the need to make some changes so that Madarsa students can take admission easily wherever they desire,” he pointed out.



Maulana Ziyauddin is speaking while on the stage L-R: Maulana Yasin Akhtar Misbahi ,Mufti Bashiruddin Qadri, Sheikh Aboobacker Ahmed ,Dr. Umar Abdullah Kamel, Maulana Idris Bastavi and Dr. Ghulam Yahya Anjum


In his presidential speech, Dr. Umar Abdullah Kamal expressed happiness at the interest shown by the Indian Ulema and assured them of his help in this regard. He said that it will strengthen the relationship between Al Azhar Islamic University and Indian Madarsas. “Thus we will find an opportunity to work together for Islam, Muslims and the humanity,” he added.

Speaking on the occasion Mufti Bashiruddin Qadri, Grand Mufti of Jammu & Kashmir threw light on the contribution of Ulema for the country. “Despite the fact that our forefathers contributed much more than others in the building of the nation, today we are being labeled as terrorists and Kashmiri Muslims are worst affected by this trend,” Mufti Qadri said.



View of audience



Besides ensuring quality of education at Madarsas, the Association will also work for several other purposes related to the community, country and the humanity at large including creating educational awareness among Muslims, presenting real picture of Islamic teachings, promotion of religious and communal harmony, conducting research on the new issues in the light of Islamic Fiqh, publication of rare but very important books and writing the biographies of Indian Ulema.

The centre of the association will be Jamia Ashrafia Mubarakpur, Azamgarh. “This is the initial step. We have to go far to achieve our target. For that soon we will form several sub-organizations that will function under the Association in different fields” said Maulana Mubarak Hussain Misbahi of Jamia Ashrafia Mubarakpur.

To make people aware of the mission and activities of the Association, a monthly Urdu magazine will be published regularly. Besides, a website in Urdu, English as well as Arabic will also be started where all the works done under the Association will be shared.


View of audience



At the end of the conference a resolution was passed demanding immediate reconstruction of Noor Masjid of Jangpura area in South Delhi and action against the officers who demolished it. The organizers demanded the government to ensure safety of Muslim religious places and waqf properties.

In another resolution, all kinds of terrorism were condemned.

Others who spoke on the occasion included Sheikh Aboobacker Ahmed, President of All India Sunni Jamiatul Ulema, Maulana Yasin Akhtar Misbahi of Darul Qalam New Delhi, Dr. Ghulam Yahya Anjum of Jamia Hamdard, Delhi, Shafiqur Rahman Burq, MP from Sambhal, Maulana Ziyauddin of Jamia Naimia, Hyderabad and Shaikh Sadrul Wara of Jamia Ashrafia Mubarakpur, Azamgarh.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Conference to highlight understanding of Quran in Delhi on Jan. 9

By Manzar Bilal

New Delhi: Quran is the most read but also the most misunderstood book. With the aim to create awareness among people about understanding Quran and taking benefit from its virtues to solve the problems that people facing, a group of Islamic scholars is organizing a Quran conference with the theme “From Darkness to Light” on 9th January at Aiwan-e-Ghalib, Mata Sundri Line in New Delhi.

The conference will have renowned Islamic scholars from different parts of the country as well as abroad who will deliver the speeches in the light of their research and study highlighting the different aspects of the divine book.



Talking to TwoCircles.net Dr. Aslam Parvaiz, Principal, Dr. Zakir Hussain College, New Delhi, said: “The main purpose of the conference is to create awareness among the people about understanding the eternal message of Quran and its importance for the humanity.”


The conference will be open for people of all religions and groups but the target audience are Muslims who are unsuccessful at every level of life despite having the guidance from creator of the universe in the shape of Quran.


Dr. Parvaiz who is also the chairman of the organizing committee of the conference highlighted the need of the conference in today’s scenario. “Quran is the origin of all sciences and knowledges but due to not understanding it properly we have divided the knowledge between ilm-e-deen and ilm-e-dunya. This made Muslims lag behind others in every sphere of life. So there is need to draw people’s attention to understand Quran deeply and properly,” he explained.


He further said: “Today our character and behavior are quite against Islamic and Quranic teachings. So, through this conference we want to create curiosity among people especially youths to understand the Quran and implement its teachings in life.”


“This is first but not the last conference on the topic rather it will be a beginning of a movement for the purpose. We will spread it to all parts of the country and will be holding conference every year” added Dr. Parvaiz who has been working on Quran and science for years and has written a book on this topic.


The conference will be inaugurated by Maulana Syed Salman Hassani Nadwi, Lecturer at Darul Uloom Nadwat-ul- Ulema, Lucknow, while noted Islamic preacher Maulana Kaleem Siddiqi will preside over it.


Other speakers of the conference include Dr. Aslam Abdullah, Director of Islamic Society of Niveda, Las Vegas, USA; Professor Saud Alam Qasmi, Theology Department of AMU; Dr. Aslam Parvaiz, Principal of Dr. Zakir Hussain College, New Delhi; Zamir Ahmad, Editor, Urdu daily “Ahwal-e-Mashriq, New Delhi; Dr. Sumaiyah Ahmad, Teacher at Jamiat-ul-Banat, Hyderabad and Research scholar of J.N.U, New Delhi.

[Photo by www.islamicpearls.alrahmanpnp.com]

Rise in kidnap-murder cases: A challenge for Nitish Kumar

By Manzar Bilal

Patna: The sudden rise in abduction and kidnap-murder cases in the state has become a matter of big concern and a great challenge for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose Government has always termed the regime of Lalu-Rabri as the period of crimes. Since he assumed office for third consecutive term as CM on 26th November 2010, the state has witnessed an outbreak of kidnap-murder cases.

One after another incidents of abduction and subsequent murder during last one month in different parts of the state has given sleepless nights to the people especially parents of school children, who are the victims in the most cases, as the police have failed to recover the abducted school boys safely.



Nitish Kumar


In the latest case, 5-yr-old Golu Kumar of Nai Sadak under Gaya Civil Lines police station was abducted and killed. He was abducted on 22nd December 2010 and police could nab the culprits only on Monday 3rd January but it was too late as the victim was already killed.

This came on the heels of revelation by Vaishali police that 4-yr-old Neeraj Kumar, who was kidnapped in Dec., has been killed by the abductors. Earlier, a class 9 student Shubham of Muzaffarpur was kidnapped and strangled to death by a gang in the same month.

The abduction and subsequent murder of 10-yr-old Amarjeet Kumar of Patna has already been a matter of discussion in the capital city last month.

But these cases do not seem enough for state police to be proactive for timely action. Rather it is showing careless gesture to the people when they approach them with complaints.

Take the case of 18-yr-old Mohammed Shah Raza of Saraunja village in Begusarai district. He was kidnapped on 30th Dec. and abductors demanded a ransom of Rs.25 lakh for his release. His father Mohammed Salim went nearby police station to lodge FIR on 31st Dec. but police refused to do so. This behavior of police angered the villagers and they protested before the deputy superintendent of police. Only then the case was lodged on 1st Jan 2011. However, police are yet to make any breakthrough for his recovery.

Similarly, Rohit Kumar (12) of Janakpur area of Gaya has gone missing since Saturday (1st Jan.). His family has lodged an FIR but police are yet to crack the case.

The case of Rajiv Singh of Sitamarhi also witnessed the failure of police as he was abducted on Dec. 17 and later killed. The police recovered his body last week. Besides, more than half a dozen businessmen have been abducted in December alone.

Bihar DGP Mr. Neelmani has admitted two days before that the rise in kidnapping incidents remains a matter of concern for police in the state. According to him, about 3,282 kidnapping cases were registered last year which was somehow higher compared to 3,142 in 2009. He also admitted that there was an increase in road robbery cases also as 970 such cases were registered in 2010 against 962 and 897 in 2009 and 2008 respectively. However, he claimed that the overall crime graph declined in 2010 compared to last years.

The cases of abductions registered in 2009 (3142) which went up to 3282 in 2010 are much higher than 2003 and 2004 (the period of Rabri Devi) with 1956 and 2566 cases of the kidnapping respectively. This runs contrary to Nitish Kumar’s claim that kidnappings have come down drastically in his rule.