Disharmony? 'Allowed' namaz in Mathura temple area, Gandhian activist arrested

By A Representative

Gandhian social activist Faisal Khan, who claims to have revived the historic Khudai Khidmatgar, an organization established by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, also known as Frontier Gandhi, during the hedays of the freedom movement, has been arrested in Delhi four days after he offered namaz at the Nand Baba temple in Mathura. The arrest took place close on the heels an Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Shrikant Sharma, criticising Khan and his team, said, “Legal action will be taken against the culprits who are trying to create disharmony in the society.”
A Khudai Khidmatgar source said, Khan was on a five-day pilgrimage (yatra), from October 24 to 29 in the “holy land of Krishna, Braj” and was “participating in ancient Chaurasi Kosi Yatra of Govardhan”, adding, during his yatra, “He met with several peoples as well as priests of various temples”, the source said, adding, “There were great discussions about the philosophy of Hinduism, verses of Tulsidas, Ras Khan and Rahim Das.”
On the last day of his pilgrimage, Faisal Khan visited the Nand Baba temple (see video), where he paid his obeisance. As it was afternoon prayer time, he asked the temple priest for a for suitable place for namaz. “The people who were there in the temple allowed him to offer prayers in the temple compound itself by saying that he was in the Home of God, so why he should go anywhere else?”, said Pawan Yadav, spokesperson, Khudai Khidmatgar.
“Khan completed his prayers. After that he and other members stayed in the temple for some more time and had their lunch in the temple. Everything was fine. On October 29 the yatra was completed and he returned to Delhi with all. After three days he got the information from some local media people that some people who were not happy with the incident and they had decided to lodge a complaint with the police”, Yadav said.
On November 2, Khan was arrested by UP Police under sections 153A, 295 and 505 and was taken to Mathura, said Yadav, insisting, “Khudai Khidmatgar believe in peace, love and communal harmony. Faisal Khan as an individual is working for the last three decades on these issues and the objective of Khudai Khidmatgar is also the same. We focus to counter the any forms of religious extremism in society. Many Hindu religious institutions have appreciated and acknowledged the work of Faisal Khan for his uncompromised work for peace and brotherhood.”

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