SHOAIB SHAIKH | NT Staff Reporter
PANAJI: The Masjid-e-Noor near MES College of Arts and Commerce at Alto-Dabolim stands out among the mosques in the state for having permitted entry for women, as a right to worship.
Located around 7 kms away from the port town of Vasco, Masjid-e-Noor is managed by the Mohidin Memorial Deeni Trust, belonging to the multi-brand business family from Vasco, in memory of late Shaikh Mohidin, known by the people as Bade Babu.
Shaikh Iqbal Mohidin, one of the trustees, speaking to this daily, informed that the mosque was opened to the public in November 2002.
“When we inaugurated the mosque, we received tremendous response from the people across the state, as the women of the community were being given the opportunity to come and pray,” he added.
When asked if the trust faced any resentment from the community, Iqbal said that the question of resentment did not arise as the residents around the mosque have been the biggest support in providing the right due to women in Islam.
He said “Even during the Prophet Muhammad’s time, women prayed in the mosque, and were able to access the mosque at their will.”
He further informed that it was ordained by the Prophet Muhammad that if any female wishes to pray or visit the mosque, then she should not be prevented from doing so. However, there is no compulsion upon women to perform salah (namaaz) in the mosque, and have been given the liberty to either perform the daily salah at home or if it is feasible, to go to the mosque.
Masjid-e-Noor remains the most abuzz mosque in and around Vasco during the month of Ramazan with devotees flocking to perform salah at all the five times, as prescribed in Islam.
As required by the Islamic teachings, separate arrangements have been made, and facilities provided for the women at the premises.
Though one will not see a rush of women at the mosque daily, only travellers stop by and their families use the facilities for prayers.
During the Ramazan, women gather at the mosque to pray in congregation during the post night salah, known as taraweeh, Iqbal informed.
He further said that women perform salah on the first floor of the mosque and the ground floor is utilised by the men for salah.
However, for the prayers on Eid-ul-Fitr (Ramazan Eid) and Eid-ul-Adha (Bakri Eid), as the number of men is large, the women are provided the space on the second floor, and men utilise the ground and the first floors for namaaz.
Besides, the community is also allowed to conduct programmes for women, and necessary facilities are provided for organising such programmes.
The entry for women in Masjid-e-Noor may pave the way for more mosques opening their doors to women for performing salah.
Generally, the mosques in Goa do not allow women to enter the premises and perform salah. Only girls till the age they attain puberty are allowed in the mosques, only for the purpose of learning Quran and the fundamentals of Islamic way of life from the scholars appointed by the mosque managements.
Stating that the Masjid-e-Noor does not adhere to any specific school of thought known after their scholars, Iqbal said that Muslims from all the schools are welcome to practice Islam and perform salah in the mosque according to their teachings.
“We are also privileged as we have not involved in any sort of prejudice against anyone, and have been allowing scholars from all schools of thought to come and spread the word of Islam,” he added.
While, the mosque is managed by the family trust, the decisions on the day-to-day affairs and functioning are taken only after consulting the local residents, as they are the muqtadees (followers/devotees) of the mosque.