An exhibition on Quran by the Ahmadiyya sect was called off Saturday mid-way in the wake of protests from other Muslim groups.
The three-day exhibition was organised in the Constitution Club by Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, a group of representatives of Ahmadiyyas sect of Muslims. The exhibition was scheduled to end on Sunday but the exhibition was wrapped up after apprehensions of tension as Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Maulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari announced a protest. The police detained him for a while for spurting up tension in the area of old Delhi.
“We had to wrap up our exhibition after a protests from the hardliners. We were spreading the message of love, to tell the world that Quran is for everyone. But the hardliners don’t want this,” a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat told agency.
Mr Bukhari was briefly detained and taken to the Daryaganj police station in old Delhi. The Shahi Imam said that they were protesting against the exhibition as it was not spreading correct messages of Islam.
“They don’t consider Prophet Mohammad the last prophet, hence they are not Muslims,” Mr Bukhari said.
He said that they had urged the government to stop the exhibition. They gave the government time till Friday to close the exhibition, but no heed was paid hence they decided to protest. However, he was detained before the protest kicked off.
But Mr Bukhari said he refused to leave the police station premise till the exhibition was called off.
“Protesters were gathering, the police then said that the exhibition was being wound-up,” he said.
Mr Bukhari was at the police station from 12 noon to around 4 pm.
According to the police, the situation in the area is now normal.