Ahmedabad: To counter hate crime and to dispel misconception among non-Muslims about Islam, ‘visit my mosque’ campaign has been launched in several states. Like Vikas Gavali (28) many non-Muslims would have been curious about what goes on inside the mosque.
According to ToI Gavali always wondered ‘Chalta kya hai masjid ke andar?’ but never asked even his closest Muslim friends fearing they might felt band. However, thanks to ‘Visit my mosque’ campaign, Gavali along with other 350 people visited the mosque in a programme held by the Pune Islamic Information Centre (PIIC), in December last year. He not only visited the mosque but asked questions about Islam and wandered through the white corridor and long halls covered in blue carpets.
The campaign aims at better understanding of Islam for the visitors. The mosque at Azam Campus, an educational hub, opened its doors to men and women from other communities. The idea was to allay doubts and dispel misconceptions around the religion and its practices.
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The initiative gained momentum across the country. Besides Pune mosque, Al-Furqan in Mumbai and Masjid-e- Umar bin Khattab in Ahmedabad and three mosques in Hyderabad also opened their doors for anyone interested in paying a visit.
The move was emulated from mosques in UK which have been holding open days for decades.