New Delhi, May 2 Senior members of the Muslim community on Saturday welcomed the Allahabad High court's judgment which held that the right to practise religion does not extend to converting private premises into an "unregulated congregational space".
The court dismissed a plea seeking permission and police protection for offering regular namaz at an alleged private property in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district.
Commending the High Court's decision, Muslim religious leader Maulana Chaudhary Ibrahim Hussain said: "In Islam, prayers should not be offered at places where disputes may arise. Also, there should be a particular place to offer namaz."
"Therefore, it is a good decision according to Islam as well as according to the law," he told IANS.
Hussain mentioned that such a decision was necessary.
He said that since people of different religions stay in India, it is important to maintain communal harmony.
"If people of any one particular community start following their religious practises at public places, then it may hurt the sentiments of others," he added.
"Moreover, the public places are meant for the use of common people. Therefore, it would better if those places are restricted for such use only and no dispute arises in it," the Muslim cleric added.
All India Muslim Jamaat National President Maulana Mufti Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi also supported the court's judgment.
He echoed saying: "The 'Shariat-e-Islamia' also says that namaz should not be offered in places of dispute."
"Also, namaz should not be offered at places which may be objectionable for anyone," he added.
He noted that a public place is prone to noise and congestion and therefore is not suited for a religious practise.
Barelvi highlighted that ambulances also pass through such places and namaz should not be offered there so that the route does not get obstructed.
"It is better to offer namaz at peaceful and secured places like mosques or own homes," he told IANS.
However, Barelvi said that some people, especially some "mindless youth", have turned the namaz into a "matter of joke".
Former Babri Masjid litigant Iqbal Ansari emphasised that rules and laws apply to everyone.
"We believe that mosques are meant for offering namaz. People sometimes offer namaz at public places, but it should be offered in mosques," he said.
Ansari also asserted: "This is a good decision which should be followed."
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