All faiths welcome: Spanish mosque opens for public in Begumpet, to promote harmony

HYDERABAD: Thousands of people, including a delegation of heritage and inter-faith activists from Punjab, visited Spanish mosque in Begumpet. The mosque was opened to people of all communities on Independence Day, as part of the ‘Visit My Mosque’ programme to promote communal harmony and national integration.

Saleem Mohammed and Saber Ali, members of Intach from the town of Malerkotla in Punjab, came all the way to Hyderabad to participate in the event. It is the second time in the country that a mosque was opened to the general public cutting across religious lines.

“It was a wonderful gathering for national integration and communal harmony,” said Saleem, who is also the convener of United Religions Initiative, Sangrur district.

Intach Hyderabad convener P Anuradha Reddy said there was a steady flow of visitors to the mosque right from the morning. “We need many more such initiatives to foster peace. Hyderabad has always been the centre of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb where people of all faiths live in harmony,” she said.

Senior Congress leader and former minister M Sashidhar Reddy also visited the mosque. Members of the mosque committee explained visitors about what goes on in the mosque during daily prayers, five times a day. They also told visitors about the teachings of the Holy Quran and Prophet Mohammed.

“This is my first visit to the mosque. I came to know about Muslim religious practices. The architecture of the Spanish mosque has always attracted me” said P Mahadev, an academician.

The mosque is managed by members of Paigah family. A Paigah noble had built the mosque inspired by Moorish architecture that he had seen during a visit to Europe in the later part of the 19th century.