They wore black ribbons, carried placards of peace, sent out emails and SMSes reiterating harmony, and put up banners saluting those who died in the 26/11 terrorist attack. From Chennai’s Thousand Lights Mosque to Delhi’s Jama Masjid, from Khwaza Banda Nawaz dargah in Gulbarga, to the mosques of Mumbai — Bakr-Eid celebrations were subdued, in a symbolic declaration of Muslim protest against terrorism. “At every dargah, prayers were said for the grieving families in Mumbai. In Ajmer Sharief, Kaliyar Sharief (Uttarakhand) and Barabanki’s Deva Sharief, the community came together burying their differences to focus on one thing: communal harmony. By showing our unity, we have spoilt the terrorists’ Bakr-Eid,” said Qari Mohd Miya Mazhari, editor, Secular Qayadat. The festival of sacrifice also became a platform of protest both for celebrities as well as ordinary citizens. In Mumbai, actor Aamir Khan wore a black band on his forearm. So did ‘Jab We Met’ director Imtiaz Ali, lyricist Javed Akhtar and his actor-director son, Farhan Akhtar. A news agency reported that other Bollywood biggies such as Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan too preferred to stay away from the festivities. Some Muslims even avoided festival purchases such as new clothes. The trustee of Mumbai’s Khar Jama Masjid, Zafar Iqbal, sent 500 emails and 250 SMSes reaffirming Islam’s peaceful tenets.In Chennai, chief Shia Qazi Ghulam Mohammed Mehdi Khan said, “I request each and every Indian regardless of their caste, community, state, religion or race to stand united against such inhuman groups because our sustenance and survival lies in our unity as Indians. No religion promotes terrorism and terrorism has no religion.” Trader Navaz Currimbhoy described it as a landmark day. “This is the first time I have heard a Qazi categorically condemn an act of terror.”
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