MUSLIMS in India returned to Friday prayers at fire-bombed mosques today as the death toll from recent violent clashes reached more than 40.

New Delhi hospitals were still trying to identify the dead as the toll continued to rise, while residents affected by clashes between Hindus and Muslims were still searching for family members.

Of the 180 men praying on the rooftop of a mosque today Mohammad Sulaiman said: “If they burn our mosques, we will rebuild them again and pray.

“It’s our religious right and nobody can stop us from practising our religion.”

Hindus shouted religious chants as Muslims attempted to reach a mosque in a riot-affected part of the city, while police presence in many areas remained heavy.

Tensions between Hindu nationalists and Muslims protesting against the discriminatory policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government had been building for weeks since the announcement of a new citizenship law in December last year.

The law provides a path to Indian citizenship for illegal migrants from various religions but excludes those who are Muslim.

The violence was set off on Sunday night after a local leader of Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Kapil Mishra demanded that police shut down a Muslim-led protest in the city, threatening that his followers would otherwise do it themselves.

Hindus and Muslims then fought on the streets during three days of unrest.

This week’s death toll marked the worst religiously motivated violence in New Delhi since 1984.

Brown University professor Ashutosh Varshney, an expert on Indian civil unrest, has warned that the BJP leaders’ strategy of demonising Muslims may draw in some fresh support as a result of the recent violence.