In a heartwarming gesture, a Christian mission in Seawoods opened its doors to Muslims for Eid-ul-Fitr namaz on Saturday. For years, the Muslim community in Seawoods (West) has struggled with a space crunch at the dargah in Sector 28.
Maulana Sakeebur Rehman, who led the namaz, said, “This year, Ramzan Eid has come during monsoon and we were worried about the namaz as we didn’t have a sheltered place. We desperately wanted one, and we spoke to Fr. Sunil Tirkey, who made the hall available for us. A separate space was made available for women.”
The namaz hall was arranged by the Mathrumilan Vikas Kendra run by the Norbertine Father Trust at Sector 42 in Seawoods. “When I heard of their need, I felt there could be no better opportunity than this to promote brotherhood. We co-exist in society and it is our duty to help each other,” Mr. Tirkey, the priest in charge and director of the trust, said. While the first floor of the Mathrumilan Vikas Kendra has a church, the ground floor is basically an open hall used as community centre.
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“We were joined for namaz by Shiv Sena worker Sameer Bagwan and his colleagues, who laid the carpet for us in the hall. After offering namaz, Sena workers greeted us with roses and greetings. We later thanked Fr. Tirkey for his gesture with flowers,” Mr Rehman said. “This act is a message to fellow Indians and other countries that we are united and can coexist by respecting and helping each other.”
Mr. Bagwan, who heads the NMMC Transport Committee, said, “This gesture needed support and encouragement and we actively did what we could. This has happened here for the first time and it is just the beginning. This is a positive message to all who hesitate to help each other due to personal beliefs. There is a new mosque coming up in Sector 50, which will solve the shortage of space problem.”