Gurgaon: In the midst of conflict in several parts of the city to Namaz offered in public places, local residents who are Hinduism have advanced to offer the small commercial space they have in ancient Gurgaon for Muslim prayers.
Akshhay Rao, margasatwa tourism organizers who have several shops in the mechanical market, say most of his customers are Muslims and face problems that offer Friday prayers.
He said he had provided one of the empty shops, which could accommodate 15-20 people.
“I haven’t done anything special.
This is not the first time I offer my place to name me; I have done it a few years ago too,” Rao said.
Rao told Ti that he was born and raised in Gurgaon and had never seen a communal dispute.
“I was disturbed after reading reports about Namaz disrupted.
My goal is to let our Muslim brothers know that it is only a handful of people who cause this.
We have lived with peace and will continue to preserve and maintain our social harmony,” he said.
District administrative officials said they had not included private land in the list of places for Friday prayers and no officially approached them to offer their land or personal space for Namaz.
Muslim groups welcome the “graceful” offer of Rao but said they have not received a formal proposal.
At the same time, they said the private space could not be a solution because there were examples in the past neighbors who raised objections.
Shahzad Khan from Muslim Ekta Manches said they had met a district administrative official on Friday to restore Namaz in the 12A sector.
“Two years ago, our mosque was sealed in the Sheyla Mata colony.
We have asked to open it and remove encroachment from the waqf board soil to provide adequate space to offer Namaz,” Khan said.
Altaf Ahmad, one of the founders of Gurgaon Muslim Council, said Rao’s offer was “a true example of the brotherhood”.
Like Khan, he also emphasizes the number of Namaz sites, now reduced, not enough for the city Muslim community.
The number of sites to offer Namaz in the city has dropped almost half.
While 37 places have been identified in 2018 after the first round of protests for this issue, 20 public places were for Friday prayers in early November by the Government Committee in consultation with community representatives.
The sites were reduced after weeks of protest with right-wing clothes and several locals, first in sector 47 and then in the 12A sector, against the use of public spaces for Namaz.