On Independence Day, the Spanish Masjid in Begumpet, one of the city’s architecturally unique monuments will be open to visitors between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. as part of a Muslim outreach programme conceived by a few conscientious citizens of the city. Called ‘Visit My Mosque’, the programme allows visitors of all faiths to enter and see the prayers being performed by the faithful.
“For too long we have remained aloof and insular. We wanted to share the truth. This is part of that effort,” said Ahsam Khaja, who came up with the idea in June and the Quba Masjid near Nanal Nagar was opened up for visitors. Throngs of people visited the mosque on the occasion. “We have an obligation to society to show about what we do in a masjid during prayers. It is not a secret ceremony. This will allow people of all faiths to see how we do the ritual purification (wazoo) and how we pray five times a day,” says Mr. Khaja who is a retired government employee.
Sultanuddin Khan, a scion of Paigah family, remembers the masjid near his family home and walking with his father to pray as a child. “It was simple white and we just had to walk a few steps to reach it and very few people used to come and pray there,” he says. “This initiative will demystify the five-times-a-day prayer routine. What better occasion than Indian Independence Day,” said Mr. Khan.
Called the Masjid Iqbal Ud Dowla or Spanish mosque for its unique minarets and construction style, it was built at the turn of nineteenth century by one of the premier nobles of Nizam’s dominions: Vicar Ul Umra. With its jack arches, truncated octagonal pyramids, extensive and intricate Kufic calligraphy, and extensive borrowings from Seljuk architecture, the mosque is one of its kind in India.
