Mecca Masjid blasts: Circumstantial evidence points out that the blast was aimed at disrupting the congregation of Tablighi Jamaat. A similar blast, though of low intensity, took place in a mosque in Guntur city on 27 May, 2000 on the eve of a Tablighi conference there

By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad, May 18: Was the blast at the 400-year-old Mecca Masjid
aimed at disrupting the massive congregation planned by Tablighi
Jamaat, a Muslim missionary known for its religious conversions
around the globe?
Senior Muslim religious leaders believe that the blasts were targeted at
the Tablighi Jamaat's international congregation which is scheduled to
begin at Mamidipalli, a few kilometres away from the historic Mecca
Masjid. The participants of the meeting from different parts of the
country prefer to take the Mecca Masjid route to reach the venue of the
Tablighi Ijtema.
Circumstantial evidence also points out that the blast was aimed at
disrupting the congregation. A similar blast, though of low intensity,
took place in a mosque in Guntur city on 27 May, 2000 on the eve of a
Tablighi conference there. Half a dozen people were injured in the
blast. Even the bomb blasts at a mosque and a Muslim graveyard at
Malegaon last year were preceded by a Tablighi conference.
Incidentally, the Jamaat has a strong base in Hyderabad, Malegaon and
Guntur. The police arrested Deendar Anjuman activists in the Guntur
blast case. Though most of its activities are aimed at "reforming"
Muslims, the Tablighi Jamaat quite often takes up "preaching" among
non-Muslims. This has many a time angered Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
The blast at the Mecca Masjid comes in the wake of a series of attacks
on Christian preachers in the State and Muslim leaders point fingers at
the Sangh Parivar.
"The VHP sent a threatening letter to the office of the Jamiat-e-Ulema
Hind after the Malegaon blasts. The letter asked the Jamiat to rein in
the Tablighi Jamaat or else face consequences," Jamiat Ulema AP
president Hafiz Peer Shabbir Ahmad pointed out.
The Hyderabad conference has been planned on a massive scale. Being
an international conference the Jamaat is expecting a turnout of 10 to
15 lakh people. Already three lakhs people have turned up at the venue
and the city police have despatched bomb squads. Security has been
tighened up at the venue.
The Tablighi Jamaat and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad have been at
loggerheads for long over the religious conversions. The Jamaat is
known for its religious propagation both within India and abroad. The
VHP opposed the Jamaat in Rajasthan and other parts of the country
accusing it of indulging in conversions.
Earlier this week VHP general secretary Pravin Togadia issued a
statement warning that the Tablighi Jamaat was its next target. United
News Network, a multi-lingual news agency based in New Delhi, sent a
copy of Togadia's statement to this correspondent. A couple of Urdu
newspapers are reported to have carried Togadia's diatribe against the
Jamaat.
"It's going to be a show of strength. Those who do not want the Jamaat
to hold such huge congregations are behind the blasts. We will not stop
the conference. It will go on," says Ata Hussain Anjum, conference
organiser.
Moulana Hameeduddin Aquil Hussami, one of the most revered
Muslim religious scholars in Andhra Pradesh, pointed fingers at the
VHP and the RSS. "Similar blasts took place in mosques in Malegaon
and Nanded in Maharashtra last year. The police instead of launching a
free and fair investigation blamed the banned Students Islamic
Movement of India. The police have been rounding up so-called SIMI
activists after every violent incident without proper investigation," he
said.
Moulana Aquil, who is revered as the "Ameer-e-Millat" (leader of the
community) said the police should not proceed with a preconceived
notion. It should keep the investigation angles open and bring the real
culprits to book. He also condemned the killing of three persons in
police firing.