Uttarakhand gurdwara opens door to Muslims to offer namaz on Eid, for the second time

“Be it Hindus, Sikhs or Muslims we have a strong bonding in Joshimath. The senior management from the Gurudwara sahib and the Muslim community held a short meeting on Saturday morning and made quick arrangements for the prayers,” Buta Singh, manager, Shri Hemkund Sahib gurudwara

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| Uttarkhand, India | 3 Sept 2017 | Asia Samachar |

Muslims offer prayers at a gurudwara in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath. – Photo / Hindustan Times

Muslims and Sikhs on Saturday (2 Sept 2017) set an example of communal harmony in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath, 300 kilometres from New Delhi, when the local gurudwara offered Muslims space to offer Eid prayers.

Muslims had gathered at a local ground in large numbers to offer prayers on the occasion of Eid-Ul-Zuha, but could not proceed due to incessant overnight rains. This is when Gurudwara Singh Sabha stepped in and welcomed them to the gurudwara, reports Hindustan Times.

“Be it Hindus, Sikhs or Muslims we have a strong bonding in Joshimath. The senior management from the Gurudwara sahib and the Muslim community held a short meeting on Saturday morning and made quick arrangements for the prayers,” Buta Singh, manager, Shri Hemkund Sahib gurudwara, told the newspaper on phone. More than 500 Muslims offered Namaaz in the retiring hall of the gurdwara, he said.

Salim Raja, an office bearer of Joshimath Muslim Committee, was also quoted as saying: “The incessant rains for the past couple of days had rendered offering Bakr-Eid Namaaz at the traditional Gandh Maidan and local municipal board hall difficult. This led us to approach Govindghat-based gurdwara management committee senior manager Seva Singh for permission to offer Namaaz there. The gurdwara has ample space to accommodate sizable devout.”

This is not the first time that Sikhs have offered space for Eid prayers. On 20 Aug 2012, the Muslims prayed at the same gurudwara. Joshimath is believed to be the last place in the state towards the China border where Muslims offer Namaaz. Beyond Joshimath lies Badrinath, one of four shrines of the Chardham pilgrimage of Hindus, the report added.

“Though we keep hearing stories about growing hatred in the society, by Allah’s grace we never witnessed such negative things here,” said Rais Ahmad (50).

Joshimath falls in the Chamoli district home to revered Hindu shrine – Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib, the Sikh Gurudwara.

This is not the first time gurdwaras have flung open their doors to assist people of other faiths. In January 2017, gurdwaras in West London joined mosques and churches by opening their doors to offer assistance to the survivors of a huge fire that engulfed a 24-storey residential tower block killing six people and injuring over 50 others.

 

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