For the first time, Eid prayers ( namaaz) were offered within the masjid premises across the national capital on Friday. Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Thursday said this year’s Eid was perhaps for the first time in the history of Delhi that ‘namaz’ was offered inside mosques and not on the roads, and added that it was an excellent example of harmony and co-existence.
Saxena greeted people on the occasion of Eid on Thursday and said this showed that all the issues could be solved with mutual discussions and goodwill. In a series of posts on X, Saxena said nowhere in Delhi namaz was offered on the road and that there was no “untoward incident” anywhere.
“Reiterating the greetings of Eid-ul-Fitr, I heartily thank the Imams of all the mosques and Eidgahs of Delhi and all our Muslim brothers for offering prayers inside the mosque premises,” L-G Saxena wrote on X in Hindi.
He said that by organising and offering prayers inside the mosque premises, albeit at staggered timings, the ‘imams’ and members of the Muslim community “ensured that traffic on the roads was not affected, and no untoward incident took place and the common people did not face any problem.
“This is perhaps the first time in the history of Delhi that people offered ‘namaz’ entirely inside the mosques and Eidgahs and not on the roads. By doing this today, Delhi has set a great example of harmony and cooperation for the country,” he said.
Earlier, after meeting with L-G, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, shahi imam of Jama Masjid urged Muslims celebrating Eid on Thursday to hold the festival prayers within the confines of their respective mosques.
The L-G said that on April 4, he had discussed and appealed in this regard in a meeting with several ‘imams’ of Delhi. The community welcomed his suggestion of staggered timings of ‘namaz’ and assured him that it will be implemented.
“Today, ‘namaz’ was not offered on the streets anywhere in Delhi nor did any untoward incident occur. Everything was completed in a cordial atmosphere. It is clear that all issues can be resolved through mutual discussion and goodwill,” he added.
Issuing a letter to all imams of mosques in India on Wednesday, the shahi imam suggested that in areas with mixed faith populations, Eid prayers should be held within the confines of the mosque to avoid inconvenience to people of other religions. On how overcrowding of mosques could be avoided because of this, Bukhari said holding more than one prayer sessions would resolve the issue gracefully.When the number of worshippers in mixed settlements or places is high, more than one congregation should mandatorily be offered inside the mosque premises to ensure the Eid prayer is held in an atmosphere of warmth and goodwill,” the shahi imam’s letter said. “The spirit of the holy occasion of Eid demands spiritual peace to prevail all over and its waves of goodness reach all sections of society.”The letter also elaborated on the process of holding multiple prayer gatherings. “In case of more than one congregation, every fresh congregation should be performed under the leadership of another imam,” he wrote.
