PM Modi to visit Cairo's historic Al-Hakim Mosque restored with help of Dawoodi Bohra community
Cairo, Jun 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, currently on his first state visit to Egypt, will visit Cairo's historic Al-Hakim Mosque, restored with the help of India's Dawoodi Bohra community.
Modi's visit to the mosque scheduled on Sunday holds special significance for India.
The Mosque has been restored with the help of India's Dawoodi Bohra community, the Egyptian government's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said. The latest restoration was completed about three months ago.
The mosque mainly performs Friday prayers and all five obligatory prayers.
"Our Prime Minister will also be visiting the historic Al-Hakim Mosque which was built in the 11th century when the Fatimid dynasty was ruling Egypt," India's Ambassador to Egypt, Ajit Gupte said.
The Bohra community which is settled in India originated from the Fatimids. They renovated the Mosque from 1970 onwards and have been maintaining it since then, he told PTI.
"So, the Prime Minister has a very close attachment to the Bohra community who have also been in Gujarat for many years and it will be an occasion for him to again visit a very important religious site for the Bohra community," Gupte said.
The historic Mosque has been named after Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the 16th Fatimid caliph and is an important religious and cultural site for the Dawoodi Bohra community.
The Dawoodi Bohra Muslims are a sect of followers of Islam who adhere to the Fatimi Ismaili Tayyibi school of thought. They are known to have originated from Egypt and later shifted to Yemen, before establishing a presence in India in the 11th century.
Prime Minister Modi has a long-standing and warm relationship with the Dawoodi Bohras even before he became Prime Minister.
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Muslim man assaulted for offering namaz on vacant land in front of temple in Uttarakhand
Rudrapur (Uttarakhand) (PTI): An elderly Muslim man was allegedly assaulted by some people and forced to chant religious slogans after he offered namaz on a vacant land in front of a temple here, police said on Tuesday.
A video of the incident is doing the rounds on social media. In the video, the accused are seen thrashing the man with sticks and hurling abuses at him.
The man, Shahid, a resident of the Resham Bari area, offered namaz during the ongoing month of Ramzan in front of the Atriya Temple in Jagatpura.
Shahid said he has been working near the temple for several days and claimed that the land where he offered namaz is quite far from the temple.
After learning about the incident, members of the Muslim community accompanied Shahid to the local police station and filed a complaint.
They claimed that one of the accused has been convicted in a murder case and currently out on parole.
Temple manager Arvind Sharma said activities associated with any other religion will not be tolerated on the temple land, even if a case is filed against him.
Police reached the spot and appealed to both communities to maintain peace.
Shahid is undergoing a medical examination. Further legal action will be taken based on the complaint, police said.
Municipal Councillor Parvez Qureshi termed the incident unacceptable.
"This matter is extremely serious. Assaulting a person is unacceptable. If anyone had any objection (to namaz being offered), the administration should have been informed. We demand an impartial investigation and strict action against the culprits to avoid a repeat of such incidents in the future," he said.
Congress leader Sofia Naz said the incident is detrimental to social harmony.
"Maintaining law and order in the state is the responsibility of the state government. Violence and forced chanting of slogans in the name of religion are against the spirit of the Constitution. The administration should take immediate action and provide justice to the victim," Naz said.
