MT Desk: Muslim Members of Parliament and prominent community leaders were among scores detained at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi during a protest against attacks on mosques and other places of worship, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and violence against marginalized communities.

The protest, organized by the Monitoring Committee of Indian Muslims (MCIM), was held on Tuesday. Delhi Police detained Sambhal MP Ziaur Rahman Barq, Rampur MP Mohibbullah Nadvi, Kairana MP Iqra Munawar Hassan and several other protesters, including women.According to organizers, Nadeem Khan, national secretary of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), was placed under house arrest from 9:30 am ahead of the protest.
The demonstration was attended by MPs, civil society members, activists and representatives of Muslim organizations, including Jamaat-e-Islami Hind president Syed Sadatullah Hussaini, former MP Kunwar Danish Ali, AIMIM Delhi state president Dr. Shoaib Jamai, academic and activist Apoorvanand, Congress leader Minakshi Singh, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind vice-president Malik Mohtasim Khan, SIO president Abdul Hafeez and Zia Pathan of APCR Madhya Pradesh.Among those detained were Malik Mohtasim Khan, Abdul Hafeez, Zia Pathan and Fraternity Movement National General Secretary Lubaib Basheer, along with several other activists, who were taken to different police stations.
Speaking on the occasion, Kairana MP Iqra Munawar Hassan criticized the government over its handling of issues affecting minorities.“The administration, which is educated and knows the law, is working at the government’s behest in a manner that resembles slavery. This is completely discriminatory. Our country cannot move forward like this,” she said.
“Muslims have a fundamental right to protest attacks on their mosques, madrasas, qabaristans and other institutions,” she added.
Samajwadi Party MP Ziaur Rahman Barq said, “We will not be silenced,” condemning the Delhi Police’s attack on the protest. “Our fight will continue until our last breath. We will keep fighting until our people get justice,” he said.
Protesters raised slogans including “Let minorities live in peace”, “Stop bulldozer action” and “Stop attacks on mosques.”
A woman protester who was detained said she and others had come to question the violence faced by Muslims but were detained before they could raise their concerns.
“Everywhere, Muslims are facing this kind of treatment. Why are they doing this? We came here only to ask these questions, but they detained us even before we could say anything,” she said.
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind demanded the immediate release of all detained protesters. Lubaib Basheer said police had denied permission for the protest and then detained and manhandled protesters, including elected representatives and community leaders.“