President APJ Abdul Kalam offered the 'Jume ki Namaaz' at Fatehpuri Masjid on Friday. It was rarest of rare visit of the President to any mosque in several years. Until now we had brief reports about Kalam praying at the mosque within the Rashtrapati Bhawan on the occasion of Id (through news agencies).
Though not many are aware about the mosque within the President's House. But today he surprised everybody with the visit to the historic Fatehpuri Masjid. The president interacted with the Namazis and also met Mufti Moazzam.
Of course, there was extra security and tens of thousands of Namazis in the mosque, many of whom shook hands with him. In pictures here one can see the enthusiasm with which he was greeted.
The visit could be symbolic. The end of his term is nearing and president is not keen on a second term. Avul Pakir Jainulabideen (Zainulabideen) Abdul Kalam has brought not only dignity but respect for the President's House and the highest office of the country.
He is the sort of President, who inspires millions of children and it is this role, I salute. His religious side has not been known to us much and there were, from some narrow-minded sections (including Muslims), questions raised on his beliefs, about being a practising Muslim (and also a rumour which I often heard in South Indian cities among Muslim that I don't want to mention).
The President's visit and prayer at the mosque not only demonstrate the unique secular nature of our country. In his personal life, he is a Muslim. He has been to religious places of other religions also. Today he prayed at a mosque, rubbing shoulders with the common Muslim. Let me repeat the oft-quoted couplet:
ek hii saf meN khaRe ho gaye Mahmood-o-Ayaaz/ na koii bandaa rahaa, na koii bandaa nawaaz
In the past, the country has seen two Muslim presidents, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad and Zakir Husain. They came from North and representatives of Muslim culture of Northern India. Kalam comes from Southern part of the country.
He has never been overtly Muslim during the tenure. And also, the Sadar (Rashtrapati) never seemed to have made a deliberate attempt to appear un-religious eithe. He has all along kept that delicate balance with perfection. Will we ever have such a President again?
PS: My friend, Pandit Ji, who saw photos of Kalam, asked me why he didn't go to Jama Masjid. And I also thought about it. Is it because there the Shahi Imam could have turned it into his show rather than just a normal visit to mosque. The Fatehpuri mosque houses a seminary also. Kalam is known to be influenced with Sufi thought.
Friday, March 02, 2007
President Kalam offers Namaz at Fatehpuri Mosque
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4 comments:
He is the best President we ever had because he is a man of science :) I know its not justified to talk about his piousness because it makes no sense. You should have posted this on IM blog.
I love APJ Abdul Kalam. Far from whispers about his religious practice, we should be proud of it. I think he should be a role model - a deeply spiritual person excelling in his field of work. I think this is the direction in which future Indians' religiosity will need to evolve in, not be trapped in narrow definitions of 'correct' religious behavior.
In his Wings of Fire book, I learnt he's from Rameshwaram. Now its on my list of places to visit :)
I agree, Mahi.
Awesome persality he is our ex- President. And thanks so much for publishing this post. SO many of my muslim friends who call themselves good muslims often rebuked Kalam for his religious beleifs. Now after reading this blog I am happy that I stood by Kalam and defended him.
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