Mumbai, July 27: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Friday said that Muslims should offer namaz at their homes and not on the roads. Thackeray said that he always asks Muslims why do they need loudspeakers for Azaan and went on to ask “who do they want to show?”

“I always ask Muslims that why do you need loudspeakers for Azaan? Who do you want to show? If you want to offer namaz, offer it at home. Why do you offer it on roads?,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

This has come nearly a month after a Muslim group in Gurugram claimed that they were stopped from offering Friday namaz (prayers) at a vacant plot in Phase III, Gurugram. The group claimed that they had been given a space at Moulsari Metro station but were asked to move to another place when they went to offer Friday prayers at the plot.

“We had been given space near Moulsari Metro station for Friday prayers, but it was being disrupted. We then moved to another park owned by the Haryana Urban Development Authority, but residents there objected as well,” Wajid Khan, head of the Nehru Yuva Sangathan Welfare Society Charitable Trust, told The Indian Express.

When the group was prevented from offering namaz at the allotted plot, they rented a small plot in Nathupur village. They were, however, asked to vacate the plot by its owner a few days later, who later told them that he’s been warned against letting the Muslims pray at the spot.

Earlier, singer-actor Sonu Nigam was caught in a controversy when he tweeted about how he does not appreciate being woken up at unearthly hours due to the azaan calls on loudspeakers. His tweet followed ire and many people raised a big hue-and-cry over saying that he has hurt the sentiments of Muslims and the minorities.

Defending his tweet then, Nigam had said, “I only spoke against the use of loudspeakers. Everybody has a right to his opinion. I have the right to have an opinion and it should not be misconstrued. Loudspeakers are not a necessity; they are not a part of any religion.”