BENGALURU: Amid ongoing debates about the current political scenario, which has attained a religious flavour, the ‘Visit My Mosque’ initiative came as refreshing news. The event was an effort by Rehmath Group, a non-profitable organisation, which conducted a walk inside Modi Masjid, at Tasker Road, on Sunday.
Organisers said the walk was an effort to clear myths about Islam, the foremost being Jihad. “It is a misunderstood word related to Islam. Our Quran does not say that you can just take away someone’s life if they don’t follow Islam,” clarified Sadiqh Sailani, who moderated the walk. He added, “Many people who stay close to Modi Masid, which is more than 120 years old, don’t even know that non-Muslims could spend time here.” He quickly mentioned the blame was to be shared by both sides.
“If people have these inhibitions that means that we have not been open about our beliefs and culture. Now is the time to bridge the gap,” said Sailani, who has been conducting walks like this for the last few months. This edition marked the first this year.
The walk was attended by people from different religions, who were curious to know more about Islamic culture. Besides a walk, there was also a talk on the practices that they follow. The event concluded with a lunch, which was planned keeping the requirements of vegetarians in mind. Close to 200 people participated in this tour and everyone had a positive response.
“The best part was the biryani,” said Meghana Rao, an assistant professor in sociology at Azim Premji University. “This was the first time I visited a mosque in Bengaluru. We never knew the people here could be so hospitable. We had so many assumptions regarding women entering a mosque but it was a very surreal experience for me,” said Rao.