GREATER NOIDA: Members of two Muslims sects — Deobandi and Barelvi — clashed on Thursday night over which group’s imam would lead prayers in a mosque on Kanagadhi road in
Jewar. Local Barelvi families alleged that present imam, from the Deobandi community, asked their kids to stay away, prompting them to bring their own imam who held the Fazr prayers (early morning) on Friday.
The police advised both the
groups to form a new committee to run the mosque and resolve the dispute.
Guddu Khan, a resident of the town said there are two mosques in the area in which one has a Barelvi imam while the other has a Deobandi imam. But, there are no restrictions on anyone in entering any of them.
“However, a group of people from Barelvi community tried to radicalise people by saying that the imam sahab have asked a few Barelvi kids to stay out of the mosque,” he said. However, the imam denied the incident.
Meanwhile, a Barelvi follower, who did not wish to be named, told TOI that the latter are in majority and that’s why they run the mosque as per their rules. So they are fighting for equal representation, he said.
Kunwar Aurangzeb Ali, ex-chairman of the municipality and also a member of the resolving committee said, “The two groups will talk about their issues in another meeting.”
The police advised both the groups to form a new committee to run the mosque and resolve the dispute.
