People protested against Nupur Sharma after Friday prayers outside Jama Masjid in Delhi. But Ahmad Bukhari, the Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, says that the protest was not called by the mosque on this side. Shahi Imam Ahmed Bukhari said that there was no call for protest from the Masjid Committee. They did not know who the protestors were.
People protested outside Jama Masjid after Friday prayers, demanding the arrest of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma in connection with controversial remarks about Prophet Mohammad. A large number of people gathered in the Jama Masjid complex, some of whom were carrying placards. Protesters outside Jama Masjid raised slogans.
In a special conversation with The Indian Express, Bukhari said that Prophet Mohammad is very important to us. We can even lay down our lives for them. But our religion does not allow us to put the lives of innocent people at stake. The permission for the demonstration was not given from his side. No one was even leading them. His question was that if a stone was thrown from the crowd and someone was killed like Ranchi, then how would he console the mother of the innocent child who died.
However, this is the first time that the Shahi Imam has distanced himself from the ongoing controversy over the Prophet and the politics surrounding him. But if we look at the earlier incidents, then Bukhari himself has been going ahead and interfering in politics. When Sonia Gandhi called him before the 2014 elections, the BJP made sharp allegations. In the 2015 elections, when Shahi Imam issued a fatwa in support of Arvind Kejriwal, he rejected it saying that he was against caste and communal politics.
When Sharif was called but not Modi
Imam Bukhari had chosen his younger son Syed Shaban Bukhari (19) as his successor, so many guests were invited to attend the event. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was also invited. But the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not in the list of guests coming to the program. Four other leaders, including the then Home Minister Rajnath Singh, were invited for the coronation ceremony. Then he had said that the Muslim of the country has still not been able to connect with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.