By TwoCircles.net staff reporter,
Agra (Uttar Pradesh): In the name of security and protection of the Taj Mahal, the Moghul-era monument that is one of the wonders of the world, Muslims who go to the Shahi Masjid near the monument to offer Juma Prayer on Fridays are screened and checked the way as if they were probable terrorists.
The security officers who belong to CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) behave with the faithful like terrorists and local administration as well as the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) considers the Taj Mahal most insecure on Friday, says a report in the Urdu daily Rashtriya Sahara. This because some 500 Muslims go to the mosque to offer prayer on the day.
The attitude of the security officers deployed there on the day denote that the monument is safe on other days of the week when it is visited by more than 10,000 people a day. This sends a signal that Muslims should be taken as potential terrorists by default, says the report.
The Shahi Masjid stands to the west of the Taj Mahal and plays an integral part in the overall design of the quadrangle. It is made from red sandstone and measures 64 meters in length and 27 meters in width.
Before 2001, entry to the Taj Mahal was free on Friday for all – those who would go there for Juma Prayer as well as domestic and foreign tourists. It was closed on Monday for cleaning. But raise income ASI later opened it on Mondays and tried to collect fee on Fridays also. But ASI succumbed to the opposition of the decision. While the Gazette of the Government of India says that the entry to the Taj Mahal premises will be free on Fridays for those coming for Juma Prayer but ASI decided to close the monument on the day. This move also was opposed and the authorities agreed to open the monument on the day only for Juma Prayer.
Syed Ibrahim Zaidi, president of the Taj Mahal Masjid Management Committee, says the ASI, CISF and local police administration have always been pressing for identity cards to be issued to those who come for Juma Prayer on Friday. Such move is illegal and impracticable also as those who come for prayers on the day are from the Agra city and rural areas and some domestic and foreign tourists are also among them.
According to Zaidi and other Muslim leaders, the Masjid goers are searched thoroughly, just short of stripping. Their pockets are checked and also their visiting cards and IDs. Their shoes and caps are removed and checked. From entry point to all the way to the mosque, CISF officers, whose number is increased on the day, stand high alert. This is not the situation on other days.