This is a rare case from Unnao, Uttar Pradesh. The local Hindu community started constructing a temple on the site; members of the Muslim community stopped that construction: Why? The reason was that the ringing of the temple bell would disturb their performance of their daily prayers. This logic has made Hindus believe that the temple would indeed come to be built and the bell to toll within the Hindu culture.
In fact, it is a small Shiva temple at Rani Pur village where Lord Mahadev has been worshiped under open skies for years.
No one knows exactly when the temple was built, but it has existed as a place of local Hindu worship for centuries. Recently, the local Hindu families decided to put a roof on the temple. This apparently most elementary action in devotion provokes a storm from the local Muslim population, and they were quick to stop its construction.
The 100 meters between the mosque and the temple site do not sit well with the Muslim community as they argue that the temple bells and religious chants would disturb their call for prayer (Azaan) and disrupt their worship.
The Muslim community claims that ringing the bell will cause riots.
This was what Nazreel Khatun-one of the local Muslims-was heard saying as she echoed a complaint that construction of the temple and the ringing of bells during bhajans would lead to clashes between the two communities. “If there is bhajan and chanting during the month of Ramadan, there will be conflict between Hindus and Muslims. This land belongs to our ancestors, and they are oppressing us.”.
However, the Hindus in the village are unyielding. They argued that they never made any complaint against the Azaan. “We do not mind the Azaan. In fact, once it starts, we even stop all the loud noises out of respect,” said one of the Hindu villagers. They further alleged that another issue would be the encroachment of the Muslims on their land and that they would not allow any festivity of the Hindu festivals to take place in the locality.
This story was originally published in thevocalnews.com. Read the full story here.
