On Sunday (24th March) a video from Maharashtra’s Solapur district ernt viral online in which several Muslim students could be seen offering Namaz inside the classroom of a government college. The students are said to have offered Namaz at the Polytechnic Government College, Solapur, on the 21st and 22nd of March amid the Islamic month of Ramzan.
The video obtained by OpIndia showed a group of Muslim students gathering in the classroom and offering Namaz. As per the information obtained by OpIndia, the other students complained about the disturbance. However, the college authorities failed to take any action against the students.
As per the sources, the Muslim students had initially sought permission from the college authorities to leave early from the college premises to attend the Ramzan prayers. However, the college had denied permission citing college rules and regulations that universally apply to all the students. The students then chose to offer Namaz in the class itself.
This is from polytechnic govt college, #Solapur #Maharashtra.
— Siddhi Somani (@sidis28) March 24, 2024
Students from specific community seen offering namaz in class without permission amid #Ramzan. Other students complained but no action taken yet.
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Along with the other students in the college, several Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists raised their voices against the incident. The activists indicated that they would start practicing Hindu religious practices in the classrooms if the Namaz practice wasn’t stopped. However, no action was taken by the authorities.
OpIndia talked to one of the ABVP activists regarding the incident who said that usually there is communal peace in the college, however, now they have started Namaz within the college premises, that too without permission. This is serious.
One of the faculty members also confirmed to OpIndia that the incident happened within the college premises and the authorities failed to take any action against the students for offering Namaz in the college without permission.
“The students had asked verbal permission to leave early from college to attend Ramzan prayers. College hours usually end at 6 pm. They had sought permission to leave 2 hours early. However, the permission was not granted citing the rules and regulations of the college. The students then offered Namaz in the classroom without permission. It happened only for two days. Later, the vacations began. But no action was taken by the college authorities despite several complaints,” one of the teachers confirmed on the condition of anonymity. He also said that the matter has now been settled as students immediately went for the vacation.
यह वीडियो गवर्नमेंट पॉलिटेक्निक, सोलापुर महाराष्ट्र की बताई गई है।
— हम लोग We The People 🇮🇳 (@ajaychauhan41) March 24, 2024
रमजान के दौरान क्लास में बिना इजाजत नमाज पढ़ते नजर आए समुदाय विशेष के छात्र। अन्य छात्रों ने शिकायत की लेकिन अभी तक कोई कार्रवाई नहीं हुई।
साभार @sidis28 pic.twitter.com/iRpv48Zkfk
The college Principal was called for a comment but the calls remained unanswered. The report will be updated once the comments are obtained.
Recent incidents of Muslims offering Namaz in public places
The issue of Muslims offering namaz in public places has been heavily criticized as the community members tend to disturb the other community members by blocking the roads and occupying public places. Several Islamists in the past have purposefully created chaos in Gurugram, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Mumbai, and Delhi by offering Namaz on the streets. In several states like Uttar Pradesh, the government has imposed a ban on offering namaz in public places.
Recently, a video of several Muslims offering namaz on the road in the Indralok area of Delhi surfaced online. In the video, a cop could be seen arriving at the spot and kicking a man offering namaz hitting another with his hand, and angrily asking the namaz-offering crowd to vacate the rather busy road.
The Delhi Police cop, identified as Manoj Tomar, was then suspended on 8th March after the video went viral. Shortly after, a longer version of the same video surfaced in which it could be seen that the Muslims offering namaz on the road were warned multiple times by the Delhi Police before the said incident took place.
Islamic leaders on offering Namaz in public places
As per several Islamic leaders, offering Namaz in public places without permission is not allowed in Islam. Prominent Muslim cleric and member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali, had earlier said that Muslims should avoid offering namaz at places where it inconveniences others. “People must adhere to the directions of the local administration when it comes to using public spaces for offering namaz,” he was quoted as saying.
As per the UP Shia Waqf Board chairman, Syed Waseem Rizvi, Muslims must seek permission before using public spaces for prayers. Maulana Shahabuddin, a prominent Barelvi cleric had also said that “offering Namaz is a matter of faith but people should make sure that nobody is disturbed when they practice their religion.”
