Hyderabad: Milad-un-Nabi, which marks the birth of Prophet Mohammad, is once again being celebrated in the city on a large scale. Green flags and decoration lights, fliers and posters, announcing a host of events lined up through out the week have come up mainly in the Sunni pockets of the Old City.
"Of late, the city has spread and along with it, a large segment of Old City population have moved along," says an observer. Elders in the community say that with various sects and schools of thoughts mushrooming, people are expressing and interpreting things differently. While one school of thought says that Prophet, who lived a simple life, did not encourage such celebrations, another school of thought propagates celebrations.
"More than practising the religion, its expression has increased. Youngsters are playing a major role in these celebrations. Right from schoolchildren to the college-going ones, they are involving themselves in some way or the other," says Mohammed Ziauddin Nayyar, secretary of reception committee organising Milad-un-Nabi by Tameer-e-Millat, which has been organising the programme for 61 years.
In view of the fact that communal riots had broken out in the Old City last year soon after these celebrations, city police commissioner A K Khan has directed religious leaders to ensure that those who have put up flags should remove them a day or two after Prophet Mohammad's birthday celebrations on February 15. Security in the area has also been strengthened.
While thousands of people are slated to come together at these gatherings, elders say that as per Shariat (the body of doctrines that regulate the lives of those who practice Islam) celebrations that do not harm others can be carried out. However, others note that since Prophet's birth and death occurred on the same day, people should neither celebrate nor mourn on the day. Moulana Maqdoom Yamani said that some religious channels are also responsible for fuelling such celebrations, by showing mega celebrations in other parts of the world. Channels are also giving extensive coverage to the celebrations, unlike previous years.
"Of late, the city has spread and along with it, a large segment of Old City population have moved along," says an observer. Elders in the community say that with various sects and schools of thoughts mushrooming, people are expressing and interpreting things differently. While one school of thought says that Prophet, who lived a simple life, did not encourage such celebrations, another school of thought propagates celebrations.
In view of the fact that communal riots had broken out in the Old City last year soon after these celebrations, city police commissioner A K Khan has directed religious leaders to ensure that those who have put up flags should remove them a day or two after Prophet Mohammad's birthday celebrations on February 15. Security in the area has also been strengthened.
