Indian Muslims rally against attacks on mosques as police detain lawmakers
Thousands protest threats to mosques, bulldozer actions and voter-roll revision as police detain three Muslim lawmakers and community leaders
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — Thousands of Muslims gathered in New Delhi on Tuesday to protest attacks, demolition threats and other actions affecting mosques and Muslim institutions across India, as police detained lawmakers, Islamic leaders, activists and students participating in the demonstration.
The protest at Jantar Mantar was called by the Monitoring Committee of Indian Muslims amid mounting concern over mosques facing demolition threats and other challenges in different parts of the country. Protesters also raised concerns over violence against marginalized communities and a controversial revision of electoral rolls.
Demonstrators demanded enforcement of legal protections for places of worship and an end to actions targeting mosques, madrasas, Muslim cemeteries and other community institutions.
Chants of “Stop attacks on mosques,” “Stop bulldozer action” and “Let minorities live in peace” rang out during the gathering.
The demonstration came a day after Muslims in the central Indian city of Ujjain began manually removing part of the historic Shahi Masjid in an effort to avert bulldozer action linked to a road-widening project ahead of the Simhastha 2028 Hindu pilgrimage.
Authorities had sought the removal of eight feet from the roughly 600-year-old mosque, while the Muslim community agreed to voluntarily remove three feet. Police later arrived with a bulldozer, prompting hundreds of Muslims to spend three nights inside and around the mosque to prevent a larger demolition.
The confrontation became one of the immediate rallying points in Delhi, where participants argued that disputes over individual Muslim religious sites reflected a broader challenge to the community’s ability to protect its places of worship.
“Muslims have a fundamental right to protest attacks on their mosques, madrasas, qabaristans and other institutions,” lawmaker Iqra Munawar Hassan told the gathering.
Hassan accused authorities of discriminatory conduct and criticized officials for acting at the government’s behest despite their responsibility to uphold the law.
As protesters gathered to assert those rights, Delhi Police detained Hassan and fellow Muslim lawmakers Ziaur Rahman Barq and Mohibbullah Nadvi, along with several other demonstrators, including women.
Barq, who represents Sambhal in Parliament, condemned the police intervention and said the community would continue demanding justice.
“We will not be silenced,” he said. “Our fight will continue until our last breath. We will keep fighting until our people get justice.”
The detentions extended beyond elected representatives.
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Vice President Malik Mohtasim Khan and Students Islamic Organisation President Abdul Hafeez were among Muslim organization leaders taken into custody. Zia Pathan of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights was also detained.
Fraternity Movement National General Secretary Lubaib Basheer and several members of the organization were taken to different police stations.
Police action against organizers began even before the gathering. Nadeem Khan, national secretary of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights, was placed under house arrest from about 9:30 a.m., preventing him from attending.
Basheer said police had denied permission for the demonstration before detaining and manhandling participants, including elected representatives and community leaders who attempted to protest actions against mosques.
“The defiance of Muslims in Ujjain shows why we must stand together,” he said.
One detained woman said protesters had come to ask why Muslims were repeatedly facing violence and discrimination.
“Everywhere, Muslims were facing this kind of treatment. Why are they doing this?” she said. “We came here only to ask these questions, but they detained us even before we could say anything.”
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind demanded the immediate release of those detained, while organizers maintained that Muslims had a constitutional right to peacefully defend their religious institutions and challenge actions they considered unlawful.
Tuesday’s protest also raised concerns over India’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, amid fears that eligible voters from Muslim and other marginalized communities could be excluded during the verification process.
The issue added an electoral-rights dimension to a demonstration otherwise dominated by growing concern among Muslims over the security of mosques and other religious institutions.
Participants said they would continue challenging attacks and demolition actions through peaceful and constitutional means, framing the protection of Muslim religious spaces not simply as a series of disputes over individual buildings, but as a broader question of the community’s ability to practice its faith and defend its constitutional rights in India.
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