ALIGARH: Days after Aligarh chief mufti urges Muslims to refrain from offering namaaz on roads, the devotees on Friday offered the prayers at the roof of a building.
–‘Namaz on Streets’–
In a bid to defuse the controversy over ‘Namaz on Streets’ the Aligarh Shehar mufti, Mohammad Khalid Hameed has directed administrators of all the mosques to offer their “prayers on rooftops of neighbouring buildings wherever convenient” but not on streets.
Following the directive of the city mufti, hundreds of devotees thronged the Bu Ali Shah mosque in Aligarh and occupied the ground floor, first floor, and even the terrace and roofs for the first time.
A member of the community who made alternate arrangements for namaz told DNA news portal, “Last week, some officials from Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) ordered us not to offer namaz on the street. Post that, we have made arrangements for the namaz on upper floors and terrace. There is a shortage of space, but it can’t be helped.”
Administrative officials, intellectuals and dignitaries of the city appreciated the commendable step of the city Mufti Khalid Hameed.
–Ensure Safety–
To ensure no one should pray on the streets and no untoward incident takes place, police personnel was also deployed outside the mosque.
The development comes after District Magistrate Chandra Bhushan issued instructions against holding recitation of “Hanuman Chalisa” or “namaaz” on the roads.