A group of nine Muslims including an imam were arrested in Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur town after the Iftar timing was announced on a loudspeaker at a local mosque. The controversy erupted on Sunday, March 2, in the Manakpur Bajaria village under the Syed Nagar Chowki area of Tanda police station.
The Muslim group was arrested following a hate campaign led by the local Hindutva outfits members who objected to the announcement, calling it “new Islamic traditions being enforced in the locality”, and logged a police complaint.
Iftar is the evening meal that Muslims eat to break their fast at sunset during the month of Ramzan, marking the end of the daily fast from dawn to dusk.
According to media reports, the Hindutva members also mobilized a mob to protest against the Iftar announcement. The atmosphere of communal tensions fueled by the radical outfit members prompted local authorities to rush the spot to quell the situation.
The authorities followed the demands of Hindutva members, removed the loudspeaker from the mosque and arrested nine Muslim men. A case has also been also registered against thearrested persons.
The police justified the arrest by echoing the statements of the Hindutva members, calling the Iftar announcement a “new tradition.” However, it may be noted that there is no law to prevent the Iftar announcements on loudspeakers. Mosques across India use sirens to let Muslims know when their fasts can be broken in the month of Ramzan.
Speaking on the case, Superintendent of Police (ASP) Atul Kumar Shrivastava said, “The dispute triggered after the Iftar announcement through a loudspeaker at the mosque. The nine individuals were arrested to maintain law and order.”
The mosque, built around 20 years ago, serves approximately 20 families for daily prayers. On the other side, the Muslim community members expressed their anger, stating that the Iftar call was not a religious announcement but a simple reminder to break fast at a time.
A local imam, Maulana Rashid Ahmed, condemned police action and the arrests. “This is a clear case of targeting one community. Announcements from places of worship have always been part of religious practice. Why single out this one?”Radiance News quoted the imam.
Human rights activist and Advocate Shariq Anwar warned that the police’s divisive action would create a negative legal precedent as it threatened religious liberties and equal treatment before the law.
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