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 Maksood Alam with his family. The trend of shaving beards to conceal religious identity was also seen in Mumbais Muslim pockets immediately after the 1993 serial blasts. Pic: Sayed Sameer AbediHeena Kausar (26) has been wearing a burkha for the last 12 years, but an incident at Dongri yesterday, compelled her to discard it.
At 9.45 am, Kausar was on her way to her doctor, when the police stopped the BEST bus she was in, for a routine check. A male constable asked me to lift my veil and then frisked me! she shudders.
They picked me from all those passengers because I wore a burkha, she says. Almost in tears, Kausar told her mother-in-law about the incident. Thankfully, she told me not to wear a burkha till the city calmed down.
Kausar hasnt told her husband about her decision or about the incident.
Community leaders believe this is not a stray incident. They say that after the 7/11 blasts, Muslims are being targetted and indiscriminately picked up for questioning.
Consequently, Muslim women have shed their burkhas, while men have shaved their beards.
Take Maksood Alam (34), who runs a small restaurant in Antop Hill. A migrant from Bihar, Alam has always kept a beard. My son was constantly unwell, as he had a hole in his heart and a peer baba told me the only way out was to keep a beard. I kept the beard, even after he recovered. However, after the blasts I shaved it off, he said.
I am a pious man, uninvolved in terrorist activities, but it makes sense to be practical, when the city is tense, he added.
Rabia Gulam Hussain Banja (18) agrees. Fed-up of being frisked at railway stations, she finally decided to ditch her burkha. I felt I was being checked too often because I wore a burkha, she told MiD DAY. A second-year student in a Matunga college, Banja said her parents stood by her decision.
In fact, almost the entire community supports the change in lifestyle.
Said Shafi Shaikh, a criminal lawyer, Its nothing new and we support their decisions. This trend of shaving beards to conceal religious identity was seen in Mumbais Muslim pockets immediately after the 1993 serial blasts. They may feel more secure, more free, but it actually underlines the fear that has driven them to do it.
Clerics have also asked their people to cooperate with the police if they are checked or questioned. Maulana Abdul Jabbar of the All India Sunni Tanzeem Iema-E-Masjid (Hindustani Masjid) that trains imams to Sunni mosques across India, said, I appealed to Muslims to inform the police immediately if they have any clue, however small, or suspicions about who could be behind the blasts.
He also appealed to the police that the needle of suspicion should not be pointing towards a single community. The perpetrators of the blasts could be of any community, including Muslims and a thorough probe should be carried out to ensure that the real culprits are caught, he said.
However, noted criminal lawyer Majeed Memon disagrees, Such apprehensions are only manifestations of insecurity, which may not be fully justified. FROM THIS TO THIS    Shaving grace: A peer baba told restaurateur Maksood Alam from Antop Hill to keep a beard after his son, who had a hole in his heart, remained unwell. Even after his sons health improved, Alam kept the beard. But after 7/11 and considering the tension in the city he got it shaved yesterday   Frisked at stations: Rabia Banja, a student at a Matunga college, ditched her burkha after her parents gave the go-ahead. Face blurred on request   Frisked by male cop: Heena Kausar felt humiliated after the incident and on her mother-in-laws suggestion, decided to stop wearing the veil. Face blurred on request
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