Temple’s sacred traditions violated: Namaz was offered inside temple
Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India 
20 April, 2025
Case Summary
An incident occurred at the Sheetla Mata temple near the housing board colony in Khachrod, Ujjain, where a 59-year-old muslim man, Yusuf, entered the temple premises and offered namaz. A video capturing the act soon went viral on social media, sparking outrage among local residents and several Hindu organisations. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, and Hindu Jagaran Manch condemned the act and filed a complaint with the police. They reported that the incident was a deliberate attempt to provoke religious sentiments and disturb communal harmony. The police responded by detaining Yusuf for questioning and initiating an investigation. CCTV footage from the temple was examined to ascertain the sequence of events and determine intent. In response, local Hindu groups purified the temple with Ganga water and conducted a 'maha aarti' on 22 April as a spiritual restoration act.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Attack on Hindu religious representations. The sub-category relevant in this case is- Breaking rules of place of worship. Sanatan Dharma is not a religion of one book, which is to say that while it has religious scriptures that form the central tenets of the faith, there are several traditions followed through thousands of years, mostly passed from generation to generation orally. One of these oral traditions or written traditions is the rules of specific temples. Certain temples have rules which are traditional rules, dependent on the worship of the presiding deities. These rules and traditions have been followed for thousands of years whether they find scriptural mention or not. Such traditions are based on the nature and rules of worship of the presiding deity of that temple. Any non-compliance of these traditions owing to animosity towards the faith or for the sake of activism stems not only from the lack of faith in the presiding deity but also disregard for the faith of the devotees of that deity/temple and implicit bias against the faith, the tradition and the deity itself. Since these specific traditions are central to the faith of the devotees of that specific temple and presiding deity, any non-compliance with these traditional rules would be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. The second sub-category selected here is- Defiling religious customs. Sanatan Dharma is not a religion of one book, which is to say that while it has religious scriptures that form the central tenets of the faith, there are several traditions followed through thousands of years, mostly passed from generation to generation orally. There are several such customs and traditions that are followed by various Hindus and Hindu sects. Defiling of these traditions and customs is a breach of an individual or group’s religious practices. Such practices can range from dietary restrictions like not eating non-vegetarian food for a certain period of the year, not eating non-vegetarian food at all, not eating beef since the cow is considered holy in Hinduism, the sanctity of religious customs followed in the house (like many ISCKON devotees), etc. Any malicious action leading to the breach of such traditions or defilement of these traditions owing to animosity towards the faith or for the sake of activism stems not only from the lack of faith in the religion itself but also from disregard for the faith of the devotees who follow the customs/traditions and implicit bias against the faith, the tradition itself. Since these specific traditions are central to the faith of the devotees of that specific sect of Hindus, any non-compliance with these traditional rules would be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. In this particular case, the Muslim man, instead of choosing to go to a mosque, offered Namaz inside a Hindu temple. Temples are central tenets for Hindus. It’s a sacred space where Hindus connect to the divine power. The intent behind the action could only possibly be that of provoking Hindus and showing disrespect towards their faith. Since such callous behaviour can only stem from a profound contempt for the Hindu religion, this case deserves to be recorded in this hate tracker.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
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