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Association for Communal Harmony in Asia (ACHA) Peace & Harmony Stories from South Asia
*Sikhs rebuild mosque demolished in 1947, Z. Khan, The Milli Gazette, June 14, 2010 In a historic gesture, Sikhs of Punjab have rebuilt a mosque demolished during the Partition riots of 1947 and handed it over to the Muslims of the area. The mosque is situated in village Sarwarpur which is situated at a distance of ten kilometers from Samrala town in Punjab. A function was held in the village on 22 May in which executive member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee Jathedar Kirpal Singh Khernian, area MLA Jagjivan Singh and the Sikh community of the area took part. The Shahi Imam of Punjab Maulana Habibur Rahman Sani Ludhianwi was invited as a special guest. At the request of the representatives of the area, the Shahi Imam presented the keys of the mosque to Dada Muhammad Tufail, the eldest Muslim in the village. Muslims raised the “Allah-o-Akbar” slogan and offered the first prayer in the mosque since Partition under the leadership of the Shahi Imam who congratulated the Sikhs for their noble gesture and said that the Sikh people have proved with their magnanimous behaviour their tolerance and brotherhood which has no match in the country. He said that this gesture of the Sikhs is a message to all communalists in the country that humanity means love not violence. Also present on the occasion was Muhammad Usman Rahmani Ludhianwi, chairman of the religious committee of the Punjab Waqf Board, who lauded this grand gesture of the Sikh brothers and announced that the Al-Habib Trust will soon complete all pending work in this mosque. Jathedar Khernian thanked the Shahi Imam for bonding Muslims and Sikhs together.
*Hindus, Muslims celebrate ‘Malmaas’ in Kashmir, One India, May 10, 2010 Anantnag (Jammu and Kashmir), May 10 (ANI): Promoting communal harmony and brotherhood, Hindus and Muslims celebrated 'Malmaas', the extra month in the Hindu calendar, at the famous Martand Teerth Shrine in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag District on Monday. Kashmiri Hindus expressed their joy over the involvement of both Muslims and Sikhs. "We want them (Hindus) to come back, so that we can live with brotherhood and harmony. We are happy that they came here and celebrated this festival of Malmaas," he added. (ANI) Link to Peace and Harmony Stories 2009 |