Muslims living in Delhi came together on Sunday to pray and stand together for the victims of the Mumbai attack.
Community dreads being asked to prove allegiance to India
NEW DELHI: Muslims living in Delhi came together on Sunday to pray and stand together for the victims of the Mumbai attack.
Holding hands and praying at Jantar Mantar, around 100 Muslims said that Islam doesn't teach terrorism and those who kill innocent people in the name of religion are not Muslims and should be punished.
"We stand together with the people of Mumbai. We understand what they have gone through and the time has come when all of us have to come together and raise our voice against terrorism in one voice, said Suraiya Jabin, a school teacher who too prayed with fellow citizens on Sunday.
Similar views resonated at the procession as the gathering urged that Islam should not be linked to terrorism as terrorists have no religion.
"Islam stands for peace and humanity. I have read the Quran and can say it with authority that those who kill in the name of Islam have not understood the faith at all," said Mohammed Naushad Alam, who is an Imam in a mosque.
Full of rage against the perpetrators, the gathering tried to give a reply to those who feel that Muslims are unsafe in India.
“These people who sneak inside our country and kill innocents are terrorists and should be dealt with severely. Their claim that Muslims are not safe in their own country is laughable,” said Abdul Wahab Khilji. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board had organised processions to express solidarity with Mumbai in twelve different cities across the country.
Muslims in Delhi dread the possibility of a backlash for the recent attacks or, worse still, being asked to prove allegiance to India.
“I am not scared of terrorists because they certainly don’t believe in Islam, because someone who kills innocent people cannot claim to be a saviour of Islam. What scares me more is the reaction of a section of the people who would now start blaming Muslims for these attacks and expect us to prove our innocence,” said 67-year-old HU Khan, a businessman who came for prayers at the historical Jama Masjid this Friday.
v_gyan@dnaindia.net 
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}