It is being built in Bhalnoor of Moga district on a spot where a mosque existed before partition
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — At a time when parts of country is seeing a renewed wave of violent hate crimes against Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus of Punjab have joined hands to build a mosque for four Muslim families in a village in state’s Moga district.
On Sunday the members of all the three religious communities gathered inside a Gurdawara and held a ceremony for laying the foundation stone of the mosque. The arrangements for the event, including Langar, were made by non-Muslims. The Sikhs held special prayers for the successful completion of the project.
The village of Bhalnoor has seven Gurdwara and four temples but no Muslim place of worship.
“There was a mosque before Partition in 1947 but its structure turned to ruins with time. We have four Muslim families in the village that chose to stay back and since then, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh families live in harmony in our village. However, all of us wanted that Muslim families too have their place of worship, so it was decided that the mosque will be rebuilt on the land where it existed earlier,” Sarpanch Pala Singh (45) told The Indian Express.
The villagers had planned a grand groundbreaking ceremony but due to heavy rain on Sunday morning, the plans had to be changed and the event was held at the nearby Sri Satsang Sahib gurdwara. The programme was held and all villagers participated, irrespective of their religion,” Singh said.
The villagers have always maintained a harmonious relationship amongst themselves and with construction of the mosque, the bonds would be further strengthened. “They are very happy that a mosque will be our tenth place of worship,” he added.
The money for the construction of the mosque has come from the pockets of the villagers irrespective of their religion or economic status. Waqf Board members are also contributing, the report said.
Mohammad Usman Rahmani Ludhianvi, the deputy imam, who was present at the ceremony, expressed his gratitude to the villagers.
