Bush visit: Mosques in twin cities will reverberate with Friday sermons directed against the policies being adopted by US President George W Bush

2007

By Syed Akbar

Hyderabad, March 2: Mosques in twin cities will reverberate with Friday sermons directed against the policies being adopted by US President George W Bush against humanity in general and Muslims in particular.

The Sunni Ulema Board and other religious organisations including those managed by the Shia community have decided to devote a part of the Friday sermon before the weekly congregational prayers to beseech the help of Almighty God against the "Satanic" policies and programmes of Bush. Even imams of mosques outside Hyderabad have been urged to condemn the policies of the Bush administration by special invocation of Almighty's mercy on humanity.

Meanwhile, the all-party joint action committee comprising representatives from Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen, Congress, Telugu Desam and Muslim religious bodies, have given a call for "voluntary bandh" in twin cities. All educational institutions and business establishments managed by Muslims will remain closed to mark the "Black Friday".

Protest rallies will be organised from Sundaraiah Vignan Kendra in Baghlingampally to Indira Park.

Various Muslim groups have appealed to the members of the principal minority community to boycott American products on Friday to highlight their protest. A list of 32 American items is being circulated among Muslims urging them to boycott them at least for one day. Minorities and those "who value human rights" have been urged not to drink American soft drinks during the visit of Bush to the city.

Even as protesters are gearing up to put up a major showdown, the police late last night reportedly rounded up poor balloonwallahs as a precautionary measure. The MBT and other organisations had earlier decided to release in the air black balloons filled with hydrogen. Immediately after the announcement, balloonwallahs have been picked up from their homes