At a time when hate crimes have grown commonplace, two villages in Punjab’s Malerkotla and Moga districts have become shining beacons of Sikh-Muslim harmony.
A Sikh man has offered his ancestral land to seven Muslim households in the newly constituted Malerkotla district to build a mosque.
Malerkotla, a historic town in Punjab, was recently promoted to the state’s 23rd district. Sikhs in the Moga district opened the doors of the local gurdwara to assist Muslims in organizing the laying of the foundation stone for a mosque nearby.
On June 13, when Muslim villagers came to lay the foundation stone for rebuilding the century-old, crumbling mosque, it began raining, according to Pala Singh, the sarpanch of Bhaloor village in Moga district. The mosque’s grounds are around 1.5 acres. He went on to say that Muslim families have been striving to rebuild the mosque for a long time.
Although nothing is known about the mosque’s origins, locals assume it was built before Partition. He’s also quick to point out that the locals don’t believe they’ve done anything noteworthy. “Muslims have the freedom to pray according to their religious beliefs.
He went on to say, “They are an integral component of our culture.”
Anwar Khan, one of the locals present at the ceremony, stated that they were also unaware of the mosque’s history and origins, dubbed the “Mohammadi Masjid. Since 2008, we’ve been planning to rebuild this mosque. This was an abandoned place, and we were low on cash, but with the cooperation of the villagers, we will now be able to build it,” he explained.
Previously, amid anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests in 2019 and 2020, a delegation of Muslims from Malerkotla visited the Golden Temple to meet the Akal Takth officiating head, Giani Harpreet Singh, to ask for his support. It was time for namaaz when the delegation emerged, and they did prayers at The Golden Temple Premises. The video had gone viral that time.
Farmer Jagmel Singh offered his ancestral property to seven Muslim households in the Muslim-majority Malerkotla district for the construction of a mosque. Roshan Khan’s family has known Jagmel’s family for a long time.
Three generations of friendship have existed between them.
It is worth noting that Muslims from Malerkotla gave 330 quintals of wheat to Golden Temple authorities during the statewide shutdown last year. The Sikh Muslim Sanjha charity had taken the initiative to contribute wheat to the Golden Temple and assist the destitute and migrant workers who had been left to fend for themselves during the crisis.
