This will be perhaps the first time that there will no mass namaz at mosques and idgahs across the country as the government has prohibited all kinds of religious gatherings to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the shahi imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid, on Monday accused the ruling Samajawadi Party in Uttar Pradesh of taking late action in the Kosi Kalan communal riots and said he will give a second thought on supporting the party in the forthcoming municipal elections and 2014 general polls.
A Bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Vijender Jain, however, said that it would decide the fate of the existing unauthorised structure.
Terming the Batla House encounter "totally fake", the Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid Ahmed Bukhari has accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre of harassing Muslims.
The Shahi Imam also said he will soon seek an appointment to meet Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, saying the meeting was necessary in order to safeguard Hindus, Muslims, democracy and secularism in the country.
He said that Taslima should tender a written apology for all her 'anti-Islamic publications as per the traditions of the Holy Prophet'. He also sought an assurance from the writer that in the future, she will desist from writing 'blasphemous' material.
"Till date, I do not know anything regarding the initiatives taken by the government," Bukhari said.
"If somebody sings Vande Mataram voluntarily, I have no objections. But if people are forced to do so, it will meet with resistance," Bukhari said.
Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari asked Muslims to stop supporting the so-called secular parties and form a separate party to protect the interests of the community.
Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the culmination of the fasting month of Ramzan, will be celebrated across the country on Saturday.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Monday received a shot in the arm when Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari on Monday lauded her work for the minorities in West Bengal, and said she would make a better prime minister for secular India than others.
The BSP, which fielded nearly 100 Muslim candidates, won only four out of the 77 assembly seats dominated by Muslim voters.
Muslims have been given tickets in 36 of the 100 seats.
Slamming Congress president Sonia Gandhi's meeting with Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid to prevent split in secular votes, Shiv Sena on Thursday said it was akin to "fox and wolf" discussing non-violence and vegetarianism.
Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari on Thursday triggered a controversy by inviting Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif among other political bigwigs but did not invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the anointment ceremony of his son on November 22.
A local court on Wednesday issued arrest warrants against 16 politicians of the the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party, besides senior community leaders for allegedly inciting violence through inflammatory speeches in Muzaffarnagar.
Well-known Islamic scholar and cleric Maulana Salman Hussain Nadwi is under fire from different quarters for attempting to run down the Imam of the Islamic world's most revered Mecca mosque.
As India prepares for a calibrated exit from the lockdown by easing more restrictions, 'Unlock-1 -- the first of the three-phase plan for reopening of prohibited activities in non-containment zones with a stringent set of Standard Operating Procedures(SOPs) -- kicks in at a time when the country recorded a daily jump of COVID-19 cases by over 9,000 for the fifth straight day on Sunday.
Both the parties had been banking heavily on the internal feud in the first family of the state
India's volatile political mix has a new element - 'the Secularati' - that is adept at hijacking Muslim issues and running with them even before the community itself has formulated a response, says Hasan Suroor.
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