ALZULFIQAR
Politcal Worker (100+ posts)
KARACHI: As worshippers answer the call for prayers and walk towards the Noor Masjid, a constant source of irritation in the Sindh megapolis between the Deobandi and Barelvi sects, the tension is so palpable it is unnerving.
Apart from obstructions like iron grills and double-cross barricades placed on each corner of the three streets leading up to the mosque near the Jubilee Market in the Saddar area, one has to undergo a full body search even before taking off his slippers outside the place of worship.
The number of security personnel too is overwhelming for a space that hardly occupies 1,500 square yards, barely enough for accommodating just about half the number of faithfuls. Dozens of policemen and Rangers can be seen deployed around-the-clock in the congested neighbourhood. Also visible are an armoured personnel carrier (APC) and three security vans. In fact, even when the prayers begin, one cannot help but feel the presence of police in plainclothes standing alert inside the mosque, guns at the ready and set to jump on any suspect for causing any trouble.
And all this because the two sides, which subscribe to different branches of the Sunni school of thought, are battling over the possession of the mosque.
The ongoing tussle turned violent as recently as early July when the rival sects pounced on each other with sticks, iron rods and guns. The fierce clash which started on the night of the Shab-i-Mairaj had left at least a dozen people injured, including one with a gunshot wound.
When authorities arrested dozens of people and sealed the mosque in the wake of the fight, Deoband clerics, including the Jamia Binoria chief, Mufti Naeem, responded by forming the Sunni Wahdat Council and gave the government a 72-hour ultimatum for reversing the situation. They warned that the situation would spiral out of control if their demands were not met and went on to accuse the Sunni Tehreek, the largest of all Barelvi organisations with a political clout, of instigating violence.
Maulana Asad Thanvi went as far as saying that the ST chief, Sarwat Aijaz Qadri, had himself led his followers to the disputed mosque and ordered them to open fire.
Bullet holes are still visible on the walls of the mosque, said Mufti Naeem.
Qadri in his defence said that he was not even in Karachi when the trouble started.
We all know which group has a terrorist background and who is capable of such violence, he added.
An ST spokesperson went on to claim that the Noor Masjid has been hijacked by a reborn proscribed group, the Sipah-e- Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), and the Deoband clerics have only come to the rescue of their terrorist brothers named in First Information Reports (FIRs).
Subsequently, the Sunni Ittehad Council, a conglomeration of the Barelvi groups, issued a statement, warning that they should not be pushed into picking up arms.
The dispute over Noor Masjid is actually tied with the history of the Sunni Tehrik.
The Barelvi organisation had made its first show of strength on December 18, 1992 when it organised a huge rally at the MA Jinnah Road in Karachi in a bid to force the administration to hand over this mosque. At that time, dozens of people were injured and several vehicles were also burnt.
Noor Masjid, however, is just a case in point. Officials say that there are several dozen such cases all over the city.
Clerics have been fighting over the possession of mosques for years. One can find such cases in almost every district across the city, says Javed Akbar Riaz, the Town Police Officer of the area in which Noor Masjid is located. Riaz insists that the best course of action in the fight over the Noor Masjid is maintaining the status quo. Were moving our APC away from the site and only police patrol vans will be posted there as a precautionary measure.
Clerics from both sides present a long list of mosques and madressas, which they claim have been either taken over by the rival sect, or sealed by the government because of disputes. We have a list of 27 mosques such as Jamia Noor where we can prove that it belongs to the Deoband school of thought, says Mufti Naeem.
Sarwat Qadri goes a step further, insisting that the problem started back during the days of General Zias regime when thousands of mosques and madrassahs across the country belonging to Barelvis were forcibly taken over by Deobandis.
Tensions are so high that Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad himself is trying to defuse the situation. Several meetings have taken place to break the deadlock.
One of the main demands raised by the Deobandi clerics is that all cases registered against their followers in the wake of the Noor Mosque clash should be dropped.
Currently, Mufti Naeem said, people who had been arrested are out on bail.
The Barelvi group is pushing for the exact opposite and is also demanding that the mosque should either be handed over to them or sealed until the resolution of the issue. The governor has formed a committee to decide all mosque-related disputes, says Mufti Naeem, adding that the committee is expected to call a final meeting soon.
Meanwhile, the Sunni Tehreek cadre fears that the situation may worsen if issues remain unresolved. Even the ST chief says there is an imminent threat to his life.
In a meeting in July at the Qadri House in Nazimabad, he said: The risk to my life has multiplied now. Terrorists are out to get me. But I will not back down. Two tiers of our leadership, including Saleem Qadri, have laid down their lives for our cause and I am ready to sacrifice my life too, Sarwat Aijaz Qadri said, adding that he was keeping himself confined to his house these days only on the advice of his followers.
However, the ST is also busy in a damage control exercise. Spokesperson Fahimuddin Sheikh said that although they did not accept decisions taken at meetings with the governor, their side has, for the moment, thought it was best not to stoke the tensions any further. We are interested in peace, he said.
Mufti Naeem rejected the suggestion that he was singling out the ST chief because of what he himself had faced at the hands of the Barelvi organisations a few months ago. Last March, Barelvi groups, including various Sunni Tehreek leaders, had organised a large rally outside the New Memon Masjid in Karachi, where they not only hanged an effigy of Mufti Naeem, but also burnt it. Mufti Naeem had termed the action a death threat in an interview back then.
A high-ranking official, who wishes to remain anonymous, says the situation at the moment is under control. But warns that eventually both the Deobandi and Barelvi leaders will have to realise that they are playing into the hands of vested interests, who want to create a rift between Sunnis and spread violence across the country, he said. If both sides dont back down, they should remember that every neighbourhood in the country has Deobandi and Barelvi followers. And once this kind of violence begins, it would be impossible to stop the domino effect.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 18th, 2010.
Apart from obstructions like iron grills and double-cross barricades placed on each corner of the three streets leading up to the mosque near the Jubilee Market in the Saddar area, one has to undergo a full body search even before taking off his slippers outside the place of worship.
The number of security personnel too is overwhelming for a space that hardly occupies 1,500 square yards, barely enough for accommodating just about half the number of faithfuls. Dozens of policemen and Rangers can be seen deployed around-the-clock in the congested neighbourhood. Also visible are an armoured personnel carrier (APC) and three security vans. In fact, even when the prayers begin, one cannot help but feel the presence of police in plainclothes standing alert inside the mosque, guns at the ready and set to jump on any suspect for causing any trouble.
And all this because the two sides, which subscribe to different branches of the Sunni school of thought, are battling over the possession of the mosque.
The ongoing tussle turned violent as recently as early July when the rival sects pounced on each other with sticks, iron rods and guns. The fierce clash which started on the night of the Shab-i-Mairaj had left at least a dozen people injured, including one with a gunshot wound.
When authorities arrested dozens of people and sealed the mosque in the wake of the fight, Deoband clerics, including the Jamia Binoria chief, Mufti Naeem, responded by forming the Sunni Wahdat Council and gave the government a 72-hour ultimatum for reversing the situation. They warned that the situation would spiral out of control if their demands were not met and went on to accuse the Sunni Tehreek, the largest of all Barelvi organisations with a political clout, of instigating violence.
Maulana Asad Thanvi went as far as saying that the ST chief, Sarwat Aijaz Qadri, had himself led his followers to the disputed mosque and ordered them to open fire.
Bullet holes are still visible on the walls of the mosque, said Mufti Naeem.
Qadri in his defence said that he was not even in Karachi when the trouble started.
We all know which group has a terrorist background and who is capable of such violence, he added.
An ST spokesperson went on to claim that the Noor Masjid has been hijacked by a reborn proscribed group, the Sipah-e- Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), and the Deoband clerics have only come to the rescue of their terrorist brothers named in First Information Reports (FIRs).
Subsequently, the Sunni Ittehad Council, a conglomeration of the Barelvi groups, issued a statement, warning that they should not be pushed into picking up arms.
The dispute over Noor Masjid is actually tied with the history of the Sunni Tehrik.
The Barelvi organisation had made its first show of strength on December 18, 1992 when it organised a huge rally at the MA Jinnah Road in Karachi in a bid to force the administration to hand over this mosque. At that time, dozens of people were injured and several vehicles were also burnt.
Noor Masjid, however, is just a case in point. Officials say that there are several dozen such cases all over the city.
Clerics have been fighting over the possession of mosques for years. One can find such cases in almost every district across the city, says Javed Akbar Riaz, the Town Police Officer of the area in which Noor Masjid is located. Riaz insists that the best course of action in the fight over the Noor Masjid is maintaining the status quo. Were moving our APC away from the site and only police patrol vans will be posted there as a precautionary measure.
Clerics from both sides present a long list of mosques and madressas, which they claim have been either taken over by the rival sect, or sealed by the government because of disputes. We have a list of 27 mosques such as Jamia Noor where we can prove that it belongs to the Deoband school of thought, says Mufti Naeem.
Sarwat Qadri goes a step further, insisting that the problem started back during the days of General Zias regime when thousands of mosques and madrassahs across the country belonging to Barelvis were forcibly taken over by Deobandis.
Tensions are so high that Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad himself is trying to defuse the situation. Several meetings have taken place to break the deadlock.
One of the main demands raised by the Deobandi clerics is that all cases registered against their followers in the wake of the Noor Mosque clash should be dropped.
Currently, Mufti Naeem said, people who had been arrested are out on bail.
The Barelvi group is pushing for the exact opposite and is also demanding that the mosque should either be handed over to them or sealed until the resolution of the issue. The governor has formed a committee to decide all mosque-related disputes, says Mufti Naeem, adding that the committee is expected to call a final meeting soon.
Meanwhile, the Sunni Tehreek cadre fears that the situation may worsen if issues remain unresolved. Even the ST chief says there is an imminent threat to his life.
In a meeting in July at the Qadri House in Nazimabad, he said: The risk to my life has multiplied now. Terrorists are out to get me. But I will not back down. Two tiers of our leadership, including Saleem Qadri, have laid down their lives for our cause and I am ready to sacrifice my life too, Sarwat Aijaz Qadri said, adding that he was keeping himself confined to his house these days only on the advice of his followers.
However, the ST is also busy in a damage control exercise. Spokesperson Fahimuddin Sheikh said that although they did not accept decisions taken at meetings with the governor, their side has, for the moment, thought it was best not to stoke the tensions any further. We are interested in peace, he said.
Mufti Naeem rejected the suggestion that he was singling out the ST chief because of what he himself had faced at the hands of the Barelvi organisations a few months ago. Last March, Barelvi groups, including various Sunni Tehreek leaders, had organised a large rally outside the New Memon Masjid in Karachi, where they not only hanged an effigy of Mufti Naeem, but also burnt it. Mufti Naeem had termed the action a death threat in an interview back then.
A high-ranking official, who wishes to remain anonymous, says the situation at the moment is under control. But warns that eventually both the Deobandi and Barelvi leaders will have to realise that they are playing into the hands of vested interests, who want to create a rift between Sunnis and spread violence across the country, he said. If both sides dont back down, they should remember that every neighbourhood in the country has Deobandi and Barelvi followers. And once this kind of violence begins, it would be impossible to stop the domino effect.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 18th, 2010.
