HYDERABAD, 27 February 2006 — Muslim political and religious organizations yesterday called for a shutdown on March 3 to protest the visit of US President George W. Bush to this southern city. “We are appealing to people in Hyderabad, its twin city Secunderabad and neighboring Mahabubnagar district to close their shops and business establishments as a mark of protest,” said Tameer-e-Millat President Maulana Rahim Qureshi.

“This is to protest against the Bush administration’s anti-Muslim and anti-Islam policies around the world.” Bush is scheduled to visit the Andhra Pradesh state capital for about five hours March 3. Since he is also likely to visit a village in Mahabubnagar, the Muslim groups called for a strike in that district.

Qureshi was speaking after the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), which groups about a dozen Muslim organizations, held a meeting here to chalk out a protest program.

Another committee comprising various Muslim groups, including the Jamaat-e-Islami, had earlier decided to organize a protest rally at Indira Park March 3. The committee, which launched a signature campaign Friday, is in favor of working with left parties and other groups that are protesting against Bush’s visit.

Qureshi, the secretary of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, said: “As Muslims it is our duty to raise our voice against these policies, especially the atrocities committed in Afghanistan and Iraq and the continued support of the US to Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine.” “We are also protesting against America’s attempts to have its hegemony in Asia by preventing countries in the region from acquiring strategic nuclear capabilities. The pressure on India to sign the nuclear deal is part of this strategy,” he said.

The MMA meeting was presided over by prominent religious leader Maulana Hameeduddin Aqil Hussami. Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) President Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi, Maulana Abdul Basit Anwar, the president of Jamaat-e-Islami’s Andhra Pradesh and Orissa unit, and MIM legislators attended the meet.

As Bush’s visit will coincide with the weekly Friday prayers, the strike call is likely to evoke good response in the Muslim-majority old quarter of Hyderabad, which recently witnessed violence during protests over the caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).