In a bid to promote communal harmony and better understanding between communities, Masjid-e-Quba, a mosque in Hyderabad’s Mehdipatnam organized a first-ever ‘open mosque’ on Sunday, a day after Eid-ul-Fitr.
Eid-ul-Fitr marks the end of the holy festival of Ramzan, celebrated by Muslims.
The ‘open mosque’ concept by the organizing committee of the mosque allowed people from different faiths to enter the mosque, observe the prayers and know the basic tenets of Islam. The programme was aimed at dispelling the misconceptions about Islam and mosques.
The event saw many non-Muslims including women who came to watch Muslims offer prayers at the mosque.
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A large number of Hindus, Christians and Sikhs thronged to the mosque and they were explained about 'namaz', 'aazaan' (call for prayers) and 'wazu' (ablution). They were also explained as to why the architectures of most of the mosques include minarets and domes. The volunteers also explained the importance of prayer, faith, charity, fasting and pilgrimage to Mecca.
It was an opportunity for followers of different religions to know how a mosque looks from the inside and how Muslims offer 'namaz'.
Visitors including heritage activist P Anuradha Reddy went around the masjid to see the charts displayed by the organisers. Speaking at the event, she said that such programmes promote better understanding between communities.
In the first floor, printed charts detailing the basic tenets of Islam were put up for the visitors to read and interpret. The visitors were later treated with dates and Sheer Khurma, a sweet made with vermicelli, milk and dry fruits.
The idea of the ‘open mosque’ was proposed by Mohammed Mustafa, who recently embraced Islam.
Open Mosque day is a global concept—which takes place annually in Germany, USA and United Kingdom. However, this was the first time that a Hyderabad mosque had organized such an event.