NEW DELHI: In a sign of the times, especially in the context of the ongoing countrywide lockdown to rein in the spread of coronavirus, Friday prayers in the city were reduced to modest gatherings, comprising only Imams and mosque staff and caretakers living on the premises.
All places of worship in the national capital, including mosques, have shut their doors in compliance to the lockdown orders in a bid to break the transmission cycle of the contagion. Before the deadly virus made its presence felt in the Capital, prayers at mosques were held five times a day.
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In arguably the first time in the city’s history, ‘outsiders’ weren’t allowed inside mosques, claimed old-timers. Even the iconic ones — Jama Masjid and Fatehpuri Masjid in Old Delhi — remained out of bounds for locals. Prayer gatherings were reduced to groups of only five or six people. Not since the Emergency in 1977 and in the wake of the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992 were such restrictions on Friday prayers seen in city mosques.
“From what I can remember, the masjid had to shut in 1975 as curfew was enforced in the area after a communal flare-up. However, 1992 was the last time our gates were shut in the wake of rumours that the Quran inside the mosque had been desecrated by some miscreants. However, it later turned out that monkeys, not men, were behind it. While the namaaz was read in local mosques, the Jama Masjid remained locked for quite some time,” said Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the Shahi Imam of the 17-century mosque built by Mughal emperor Shahjahan.
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Prayers at Jama Masjid, as well as Fatehpuri Masjid, another Mughal-era mosque, remained suspended for a couple of years after the mutiny against the British Empire ended in failure. Both the iconic prayer sites were turned into garrisons for the British troops. Jama Masjid also served as a stable for army horses.
Mufti Mukarram Ahmed, Imam of Fatehpuri Masjid, said prayers with limited people were also held during the Emergency and in 1987, when a curfew was in force.
“On the first Friday after Babri demolition, only two to three people were allowed to attend the weekly afternoon prayers. I led the prayers today and only the mosque staff were present. I today’s sermon, I asked my fellow namaazis (prayer mates) to spread the word in the community that all should pray at home and not roam the streets needlessly,” Ahmed said. Earlier on Friday, loud speakers at mosques rang out messages, asking people to stay home and pray. Some also had posters, asking locals to obey orders.