By Mohammed Siddique, TwoCircles.net,
Hyderabad : In an unprecedented mobilization of Muslims of various sects and schools of thoughts in Hyderabad against the Ahmadiya (Qadiani) community, the latter was stopped from holding its congregation in the city.
As thousands of Muslims tried to march and lay a siege around the venue of their proposed meeting in a state owned building, the state government cancelled the permission on “technical grounds”.
Not leaving the matter there, several Muslim organizations have also filed a caveat in the Andhra Pradesh High Court against granting any permission to Qadianis for conducting any public meeting or function in the state “in the name of Muslims or Islam”.
Muzaffar Hussain Khan, who filed the caveat on behalf of reputed seminary Jamia Nizamia, and several organizations including Jamat-e-Islami, Majlis-e-Ulema-e-Deccan, Jamiatul Ulema, Sunni Dawat-e-Islami, Anjuman Mehdvia, Anjuman Quadria and Shia Asna-e-Ashari, said that such a move was necessary to make it clear to the court that Ahmadia community was not Muslim and it should not be allowed to carry out pubic activities in the name of Muslims and Islam. “We have requested the High Court to seek the opinion of Muslims before allowing any public activities by Ahmadiya community”, he said. “They are misleading ignorant and innocent Muslims specially in rural areas by claiming to be Muslims”, he said.
The caveat was filed in view of the orders of the High Court on Friday last in which Ahmadia community was allowed to conduct its day long conference to mark the 100th anniversary of the Khilafat or successorship to Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of Ahmadiya community.
The High Court had ordered the police and the government to provide protection to the Ahmadiya conference but the government withdrew the permission on the ground of technical breakdown at the venue of the conference.
The department of cultural affairs in the state government issued a notice to Ahmadiya Jamat withdrawing the permission citing breakdown in electricity supply system. Along with the open air theater, programs scheduled in other buildings were also cancelled on the same ground.
The development averted a possible clash between Muslims and Ahmadiya community as Muslims had threatened to lay a siege of the venue on Sunday. Night before that, thousands of Muslims attended a protest meeting addressed by the reputed religious scholars and representatives of different organizations exhorting Muslims to be aware of Ahmadia Jamat’s activities and boycott them.
The meeting passed a resolution, moved by the member of Parliament from Hyderabad a senior leader of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) Asaduddin Owaisi. The resolution urged the government of India to expel Ahmadiyas from the list of Muslims and not to extend them the benefits of schemes meant for Muslims.
“We want to make it clear that Ahmadiyas are not Muslims because their faith clashes with the basic tenet of Islam. No body could be called Muslim if he does not believe in Hazrat Mohammed being the last prophet of Allah. Mirza Ghulam Ahmad on the other hand had claimed to be a prophet , which is blasphemous”, he said.
“India is a democracy and any body can hold meeting and carry out their activities. Ahmadias can also do the same but not in the name of Muslims or Islam. They should declare their true religious identity, which is not Islamic”, he said.
He also demanded a ban on the website of Ahmadiyas “al-islam.org” saying it was misleading Muslims and creating confusion among them.
The Ahmadiya Jamat on the other hand defended itself by denying the charges. Inam Ghouri, the head of Ahmadiya community in India said, “this is all false and one sided propaganda. Our point of view is not being under stood. We believe that Hazrat Mohammed was the last prophet, Quran is the last book and Islam is the last religion”. He said Mirza Ghulam Ahmad had not claimed to be a prophet but said he was promised Mehdi. Ahmadia Jamat had organized similar conferences in Calicut and Bangalore with out any opposition.
After the cancellation of their meeting, Ahmadiya leaders could not come out with their reaction as they were not allowed to address a press conference. While protestors had gathered at the city press club, a five star hotel fearing trouble cancelled the press conference at the last minute.
Muslim community leaders said that their opposition to the meeting was not only to stop their activity in the city but it was also an expression of protest over their converting illiterate Muslims in villages to their religion.
As a fallout of the protest, 22 persons in Srika Pahad village of Nalgonda district reverted back to Islam in the presence of Rahmatulla Shareef, former chief of Jamat-e-Islami, Assam. Similarly a group of Qadianis in West Godavari district also embraced Islam.