With only a week away for Milaad-un-Nabi, posters carrying a fatwa or proclamation that was issued by city-based seminary Jamia Nizamia some three years ago as part of a public awareness campaign have started appearing on the walls of mosques and other public places in the Old City recommending Muslims to celebrate the birth of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) with soberness. According to the fatwa issued by Jamia Nizamia, the use of loudspeakers, singing, dancing and shoplifting of electricity are an un-Islamic acts and should not become part of Milad celebrations.
“Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon Him)preached peace and was against causing inconvenience to public”, said additional deputy commissioner of police, South Zone, Mr. Babu Rao in a conference with Islamic intellectuals and spiritual leaders. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the Muslims to follow his tradition and should avoid any act that could be against the tenets of Islam.
Police commissioner Anurag Sharma at a meeting on Monday appreciated the age-old tradition of communal harmony in Hyderabad and said that when Bonalu and Shab-e-Qadr overlapped during Ramzan, the people showed great respect to each other’s religious feeling . The meeting was organized by Sunni United Forum, an organization that had started a centralized Milad procession from Mecca Masjid to Nayapul. The procession will start at 10 am and turn into a public rally at Mughalpura playground by 2 pm.
Blood donation camps, mass feeding and distribution of clothes and fruits among the poor and the sick are planned by several other muslim groups. Additional precaution needs to be taken for the Milad festivities as the Sankranti festival coincides with it.
According to the sources, the South Zone is considered to be a communally sensitive area and no police officer is willing to take up the job there because of which the meeting was conducted in the absence of south zone DCP.
The government is not giving any attention to fill up the vacant post due to the current political chaos. It did not even take into consideration the increased apprehension of disturbances during the anniversary of the demolition of Babri Masjid on December 6, 2013.
K Raghuram Reddy, SP Kurnool, who was posted in Joshi’s place as Tarun Joshi, who was serving as DCP SZ, was transferred as superintendent of police, Nizamabad, in October 2013. Joshi obtained stay from the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and challenged his transfer. Joint commissioner M Shiva Prasad is holding that post as additional charge in the absence of a DCP.