Though the mosques around the city had an unusually large presence of cops deployed in their vicinity, it was just another day at the places of worship for the minority community. However, at the same, the undertone of dissatisfaction was perceptible.
The Friday prayers, which begin at 1.30pm, usually start with a sermon by religious experts an hour earlier. There were apprehensions that they may try to vent their discontentment over the Ayodhya judgment, especially as the Muslims got only one and the Hindus two parts of the disputed site. However, the sermons only ended with a small mention of the verdict appealing the community to maintain restraint. Hope for a better ruling in the apex court was mentioned in passing.
TOI secured permission to join the prayers at the Jama Masjid, the biggest mosque in the city, at Mominpura just close to other Hindu-dominated sensitive areas. As people began to gather from 12.30pm, Mohammed Ashfaq of the central executive committee member of the Jamate-Islami-e-Hind was heard narrating stories from the Quran. He told the story of an orphan boy who needed help and was looked after by some compassionate people.
The last couple of minutes of the speech dwelt on Thursday`s ruling. After appealing to the community to not get emotional, Ashfaq ended saying, "main dua karta hoon ke sahi faisla ho", (I pray that the truth is delivered in the final verdict).
There were similar peace appeals at the Garib Nawaz Masjid, half a kilometre away. At the upmarket Ehbab Colony mosque, there was no reference of the verdict at all.
Like Ashfaq, who is now looking forward to the Supreme Court where the case will be fought, Javed Ansari of the United Students Association, said the issue of the ownership of land too should have been settled.
"There is no point dividing the area into three parts," he said. "The Muslims would have accepted if the entire site would have gone to the Hindus as our scriptures do not permit offering prayers from a site on which one does not have a legitimate claim."
Senior citizen Mushtaq Ansari flayed the politicians for aggravating the dispute. "You must understand that except a handful none from both the communities know exactly what the matter is all about," he said.
A resident of Jaffar Nagar said the day-to-day hassles keep the common man so preoccupied that he has no time to think about such matters. "A mosque or a temple does not make any difference for those who have to struggle each day to earn a square meal," he said.
The Friday prayers, which begin at 1.30pm, usually start with a sermon by religious experts an hour earlier. There were apprehensions that they may try to vent their discontentment over the Ayodhya judgment, especially as the Muslims got only one and the Hindus two parts of the disputed site. However, the sermons only ended with a small mention of the verdict appealing the community to maintain restraint. Hope for a better ruling in the apex court was mentioned in passing.
TOI secured permission to join the prayers at the Jama Masjid, the biggest mosque in the city, at Mominpura just close to other Hindu-dominated sensitive areas. As people began to gather from 12.30pm, Mohammed Ashfaq of the central executive committee member of the Jamate-Islami-e-Hind was heard narrating stories from the Quran. He told the story of an orphan boy who needed help and was looked after by some compassionate people.
The last couple of minutes of the speech dwelt on Thursday`s ruling. After appealing to the community to not get emotional, Ashfaq ended saying, "main dua karta hoon ke sahi faisla ho", (I pray that the truth is delivered in the final verdict).
There were similar peace appeals at the Garib Nawaz Masjid, half a kilometre away. At the upmarket Ehbab Colony mosque, there was no reference of the verdict at all.
Like Ashfaq, who is now looking forward to the Supreme Court where the case will be fought, Javed Ansari of the United Students Association, said the issue of the ownership of land too should have been settled.
"There is no point dividing the area into three parts," he said. "The Muslims would have accepted if the entire site would have gone to the Hindus as our scriptures do not permit offering prayers from a site on which one does not have a legitimate claim."
Senior citizen Mushtaq Ansari flayed the politicians for aggravating the dispute. "You must understand that except a handful none from both the communities know exactly what the matter is all about," he said.
A resident of Jaffar Nagar said the day-to-day hassles keep the common man so preoccupied that he has no time to think about such matters. "A mosque or a temple does not make any difference for those who have to struggle each day to earn a square meal," he said.
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