Staff Reporter
Devotees assembled at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque were divided during Jumma prayers yesterday over the appointment of a new Khatib, which caused scuffles and shoe-throwing during the prayer.
Fazle Hossain, a devotee told reporters: “As the senior pesh imam Maulana Mufti Md Nuruddin stood up to lead the Jumma prayer, some of the devotees protested shouting: ‘Why should this man lead the prayer when the mosque has appointed a new khatib?
When another group shouted them down, the Friday prayers were disrupted by argument, scuffles and shoe hurling, said Hossain.
Amid the fisticuffs and shoes, Nuruddin began leading the prayers and the situation began to calm down.
“But the fight resumed after prayers, and some were left with clothes tattered and broken teeth,” said Hossain.
Many mosque-goers complained that they were unable to attend to their prayers properly because of the disturbance.
The two groups taking sides with the newly appointed and the outgoing Khatibs had assembled in the area since morning, which might have dissuaded the new Khatib from coming to the mosque to lead the prayers on the day.
Maulana Nuruddin said he had led the Jumma prayer as instructed by the mosque authorities.
Nuruddin took over as Khatib since the previous Khatib Ubaid’s death.
The new government appointed professor Maulana Salahuddin as a new Khatib for the national mosque at the beginning of January.
Courtesy: nation.ittefaq.com
