New Delhi: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has reportedly asked Muslims in West Bengal not to carry swords and display weapons during processions on the tenth day of Muharram.
“We have reached out to leaders of the community to ensure Muharram is observed in a way that does not hurt sentiments of members of other communities. We urge Muslims to shun the practice of carrying swords during processions not only because the practice has no sanction in Islam but also because such communal forces as BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) are trying to foment trouble around this practice,” Hindustan Times quoted TMC parliament member Idris Ali as saying.
Some Shia Muslims self-flagellate to commemorate the killing of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussain, in the Battle of Karbala in the 7th century. However, clerics have been asking people to donate blood instead in recent years.
This year too, several imams have asked people not to carry weapons and self-flagellate. “Muharram is our mourning month. Please do not indulge in the display of sticks and swords during processions. These have nothing to do with Islam… Please do not do anything that strengthens the hands of the communal and divisive forces,” imam Maulana Shafique Qasmi of Kolkata’s Nakhoda mosque said, according to Hindustan Times.
Though the Bharatiya Janata Party made it a point to support the brandishing of weapons during Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti celebrations in the state, it has welcomed the TMC’s decision on Muharram. “We welcome the move. It marks a moral victory for us,” BJP’s Bengal unit president Dilip Ghosh was quoted as saying.
In March this year, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had cracked the whip on possible armed processions by right-wing Hindu groups and asked the police not to allow such gatherings. “There are few organisations which bring out traditional processions with arms. They must seek special permission from the police. Only those who have been conducting such rallies for more than 50 or 100 years shall be allowed but no new permission shall be granted. I know a few such processions are taken out in Howrah and Asansol but hooliganism won’t be allowed. Since board examinations are being held, all such processions can only be taken out on after 4 pm,” she had said.
At that time, Ghosh had said that such processions will take place irrespective of the government’s diktats. “Everyone has the right to celebrate Ram Navami. If they try to create obstacles, things will deteriorate and they will face the consequence. No one requires any permission from the state to perform ones religious rights. The government’s job is to maintain law and order and they should concentrate only on that rather than playing with people’s sentiments,” he had said.