Anger, dismay, guilt among Muslims in Ranchi

RANCHI: Muslim organizations in the city have expressed anger and dismay as social media was flooded with posts portraying Tablighi Jamaat members as criminals. Socio-religious Muslim outfits in Ranchi appealed to the people to cooperate with the administration with screening the possibly infected people and also urged people from other communities not to blame the Tablighi markaz for spreading the novel coronavirus.
Shahar kaazi Kari Jaan Mohammad said they have been cooperating with the administration ever since the PM called for a ‘janata curfew’ on March 22. “We made announcements from mosques and asked people to stay indoors and offer namaz from their homes. Friday prayers at mosques were also cancelled and people followed the directives,” he said.
He, however, pointed out that it was wrong to claim that the members of Tablighi Jamaat were “hiding” in mosques. “No foreigner can come to us without informing the government and the local administration. It is wrong to say that they were hiding. “On Thursday, Hindpiri OC had come to inquire about the foreigners and the authorities were very much aware about their presence in Badi Masjid,” he added.
Hasan Rumi, state convener of Muslim Majlis-e-mushawarat Khurshid, said the blame game is part of a larger political conspiracy. “When the government at the Centre imposed a lockdown all of a sudden, authorities in Delhi failed to control the gathering of labourers at the city-state’s border. Their failure came into focus and they raised the markaz issue to divert attention,” Rumi said.
Rumi added that with its international headquarters in Nizamuddin, Delhi, Tablighi Jamaat has been sending its members to different parts of the country through the year and the Intelligence Bureau has detailed information about all foreign members who come to India. “How can anyone believe that the government was unaware of the congregation? What option did the Tabllighi members have once the lockdown was imposed,” Rumi asked.
Moulana Qutubuddin Rizwi of Edar-E Sharia, however, expressed guilt for the lockdown orders being violated in some parts by members of the Jamaat. “Members of the Jamaat should have behaved responsibly in view of the emergency-like situation the country and the world are dealing with,” he said.
Academician and scientist Dr Abdul Wadood said while that the members of Tablighi Jamaat may have been in the right legally, they failed to fulfil their social duties. “The situation across the world was deteriorating since the first week of March. Even before the government announced the lockdown, we started observing social distancing and many events of the university were cancelled. How could an international organisation like Tablighi Jamaat fail to postpone its people-connect programmes. They should have asked members to observe social distancing even before the lockdown was announced,” he said.
Wadood urged everyone to set aside communal discussions and fight the virus collectively to ensure people remain healthy. “We can settle our differences and find out whose failure it was when the crisis is over. For the time being, everyone should cooperate with the administration,” he said.