Eid-e-Milad processions commemorating the 1500th birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad was organised in Mumbai on Monday evening. Though the birthday was observed on September 5, the date of the procession was shifted from September 6 to 8 to give way to Ganesh visarjan processions.
The main procession was organised by the All India Khilafat Committee in south Mumbai, covering areas like Byculla and Sir J J Road. Large gatherings were organised in Pathanwadi, Malad, Mira Road, and other places in Mumbai.
This year marks not only the 1500th birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad, but also one and half millenium of the founding of Islam.
Though there are views in the Muslim community that the processions are an innovation and not a feature of early Islam, the gatherings have been part of Eid-e-Milad celebrations in the city since its inception by the All India Khilafat Committee. The processions were first organised by Muslim leaders to gather supporters of the independence movement without violating rules that banned political gatherings.
There is a debate about the date of the first Eid-e-Milad procession in the city. While the All India Khilafat Committee says that the first procession was organised in 1919, a book by Urdu journalist Saaed Hameed refutes the claim. Hameed says that historical evidence shows that the first ever Eid-e-Milad procession in Mumbai began from Juma Masjid in 1930 and the first Juloos E Eid-e-Milad from Khilafat House, Byculla, in 1935 .
