Indian mosque open its doors to non-Muslims in move to end division

Anurag Kumar always watched with curiosity the mosque that was on his way to a coaching center, as well as the loudspeakers fitted atop the minarets blaring 'AllahHuAkbar' everyday. Born into a Hindu family, he had no idea about what the Muslims did there because he had never been into a mosque.

But now any confusion he had about Islam and the mosque has disappeared. "It was a wonderful experience to visit the mosque and find out many things about other faiths. All my curiosity stands satisfied," says Kumar, 29, who is preparing for competitive examinations to get a good job.

Kumar was among 150-odd Hindus who visited the mosque. This became possible after a century-old mosque, Bhainsasur Badi Masjid in Nalanda, in India's Bihar state, opened its doors for Hindus and other non-Muslims recently to let them visit the place of their faith.

This was the first time in Bihar that any mosque had been opened to non-Muslims.

In what could be described as a very significant development, mosques are slowly opening their doors for non-Muslims in an effort to check the growing distrust between various communities and promote communal harmony amid continuing protests against the recently passed Citizenship Amendment Act.

The law, passed by the Parliament on Dec 11, aims to fast-track citizenship for "persecuted" Hindus, Parsees, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians who arrived in India before Dec 31, 2014 from three Muslim countries－Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

However, Muslims were excluded from this list, in a move that critics say is the first time a law has linked Indian citizenship to the applicant's religion.

The law has triggered protests across India, with protesters describing it as divisive and contrary to the principles of the country's constitution.

Rajni Kant, one of the Hindus who visited the Bihar mosque, described it as an excellent initiative that would go a long way in promoting understanding between faiths, and he called for similar initiatives from Hindus.

The author is a freelance journalist for China Daily.