Pan India

Amid religious polarisation, Hindu temple in Gujarat invites Muslims to break fast, offer namaz

Ahmedabad: At the times when social media is full of hate posts and religious polarisation in the country is shredding the social fabric apart, a historic Hindu temple in Gujarat has set a unique example of communal harmony by opening its door for Muslim rozedaars to break their fast and offer namaz during the ongoing holy month of Ramadan.

Varanda Vir Maharaj Mandir in Dalvana village of Banaskantha district on Friday, organised iftar (fast breaking) and invited at least 100 Muslim village residents to break their fast and then offer Maghrib prayer at the temple premises. The 1200-year-old temple holds special significance for the people of the village.

Indian Express quoted temple priest Pankaj Thakar as saying “This year, the temple trust and gram panchayat decided to invite the Muslim rozedars to our temple premises to break their fast. We arranged for five to six types of fruits, dates and sherbet for over 100 Muslim rozedars of our village. I personally welcomed the Maulana sahib of our local mosque today.”

He disclosed that people in the village always believed in coexistence and brotherhood and always ensured to help each other whenever the dates of their respective festivals clashed.

Echoing priest thoughts, Wasim Khan, a local Muslim businessman, said people in the village live in harmony and work closely to celebrate their festivals.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button