After the 2002 riots in Gujarat, Muslims of all sects and ideologies had united to rebuild their lives, their homes, their mosques. But of late, differences between followers of the Barelvi and Deobandi schools have come to such a head that Barelvi mosques in the Saurashtra-Kutch region have put up boards asking non-Barelvis not to enter. Those who turn up nevertheless are asked to leave.

Followers of the two schools have never got along well. About a year and a half back, followers of the two sects in Halol and Kalol, some 30 km from Godhra, fought pitched battles over trivial issues. In another incident about a year ago, in Boru village, some 40 km from Godhra, villagers closely related to each other but adhering to different sects fought a bloody battle.

Even so, it is unusual for a group to prevent members of another from prayers, for Islam says no one is to be turned away from a mosque.

Though both groups are Sunnis, the essential points of difference are that the austere Deobandi school considers the Barelvi attribution of omnipresence to the Prophet and its belief in the power of Sufi saints to intercede with Allah on behalf of human beings a corruption of strict Islamic tenets.

Post-2002, however, the two groups had more or less set aside differences during rehabilitation work. Both helped each other in relief work and in rebuilding mosques damaged or demolished by rioters. In Kwant, Sant, Sokhda and other places in the Panchmahals, which had seen the worst rioting, non-Barelvi groups helped rebuild Barelvi mosques.

But that sense of oneness seems to have evaporated. With the Barelvis having strength in numbers — of the 50 lakh Muslims in Gujarat, Barelvis account for 70-80 per cent in rural areas and 60 per cent in urban areas — they are asserting control of mosques.

Translations of the Koran by non-Barelvi scholars have been removed from their mosques and they are asking non-Barelvis who financed reconstruction of mosques to stay away from the affairs of these places. In Ahmedabad’s walled city, the Barelvis have even wrested control of a mosque that was being run by Deobandis.

Well-known Barelvi religious leader Maulana Shabbir Ahmed Siddiqui, who leads prayers in Ahmedabad’s Jama Masjid, justifies the attitude of Barelvis towards Deobandis. “The differences of faith between the two sects is so vast that Barelvis can’t allow Deobandis to pray in their mosques,” he said. “If the Deobandis don’t subscribe to our views on matters of faith and religion, they should not come for prayer to our mosques.”

However, Mufti Abdul Qayyum, heading the Darul Qaza (Islamic court) and subscribing to the Deobandi school, says: “Let’s be large-hearted and allow members of every Muslim sect to pray in each and every mosque, because all of us believe in the oneness of God. We welcome everyone to our mosques — Barelvis, Ahl-e-Hadith, Tablighis, and Shias. A mosque is not our personal property. It is the House of Allah.”

Reacting to the controversy, Jamal Patiwala, in-charge of the media wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, says: “It’s highly offensive to prevent people from praying inside mosques if they happen to belong to a different school of thought from that of the custodians.”