A religious difference among a Sunni Muslim family in Zambia has broken out

Ghousia Islamic Trust Registered Trustees has dragged the Muhammad Ibrahim Patel family, known as Meem, of Makeni seeking a court order to stop the family from accessing and worshipping at Ghousia and Qadariya mosques in Kamwala and Emmasdale, respectively.

The Trust wants the Ibrahim Patel family members namely, Muhammad, Moeen, Anior, Asif, Fareed and Siraj Yakus to be ordered to pay damages for trespass, nuisance they caused on its private property and costs for the proceedings.

Ghousia Islamic Trust stated in its statement of claim filed before the Lusaka High Court principal registry that it was a body incorporated pursuant to the provisions of the Lands (Perpetual Succession) Act whose objective is to provide places of congregation and workshop for Sunni Muslims.

The Trust said pursuant to its objective, it built two mosques to facilitate Sunni Muslims to perform their five-times daily prayers in Kamwala and Emasdale residential areas.

It said it had over the years sourced funds which it used to procure land and erected two mosques where the Sunni Muslims were allowed access to conduct their daily prayers.

The Trust stated that it had regularly allowed the Mohammad Ibrahim Patel family to access, worship and congregate at Ghousia.

It said that the access granted to the Sunni did not entitle them a permanent right of access because the two mosques are private property and not public.

The Trustee said on July 18, 2013 the Patel family approached the Trustee’s Board chairperson Nassir Pardes demanding to be allowed to host a lecture by their family invited guest from India at Ghousia for sermons and prayers.

It said that the defendants were advised to give the chair more time to consult, but the family allegedly unreasonably became unruly and demanded to be given immediate approval, saying they had the right to invite anyone at any time.

The Trustee further alleged that despite the refusal to grant them permission, the Patel family showed up for night prayers at the mosque around 21:00 hours.

When they were approached, the family proceeded to issue threats against the chairperson threatening that they would eliminate him and his whole family and replace him with a chairperson of their choice.

It alleged that the family further bragged that they were well connected as they had access to influential people who would ensure that Ghousia was closed down or blown up.

It stated that the family later started campaigning for holding of fresh elections to replace the trustees with their people despite the Registrar of Societies having dismissed their application to remove the Board.

It said the defendants had continued to threaten, throw insidious acts and causing nuisance which has caused the trustees to suffer damage and that unless they were restrained through an injunction, peace and harmony would not prevail.