Mosque and temple stand together in harmony

A small community in Peshawar is proving that coexistence is still possible

PESHAWAR:

While troubling incidents of religious intolerance reported across both sides of the Indo-Pak border highlight the worst side of humanity, one odd street in Peshawar presents a soul-stirring picture of what interfaith harmony can look like.

The 200-year-old temple in Gor Khatri, which is regularly visited by the Hindu community, is located just 50 steps away from the Jama Masjid, which is frequented by Muslims five times a day for their congregational prayers.

Iqbal Awan, a 64-year-old living near Karim Pura, the area occupied by the Hindu community, revealed that his ancestral home was located near the Gor Khatri temple.

"Throughout our business dealings, we have never seen any fight or quarrel near the temple or mosque. At the time of Holi or any other festival of the Hindu community, we would let them use our houses for celebrations and get the streets cleaned.

They too would participate in our Eid celebrations, marriages and other occasions. The elders of the inner city and the Hindu community would sit together and talk," said Iqbal.

Similarly, Asif Ramesh, a member of the Hindu community who has been living with his ancestors in Gor Khatri since the past 60 years, told The Express Tribune that he visited the Gorakhnath temple almost every other day.

"When there is bhajan in the temple and the azan is called from the mosque, we make adjustments as a matter of respect. Similarly, when our festival is celebrated, the Muslim community never interferes but only offers their cooperation.

Likewise, during Ramadan, I arrange lighting in the mosques. Our worshippers cannot worship in any country or city in the world with as much freedom, peace and tranquility as they can in Pakistan, especially in K-P," said Ramesh, whose family is one of 1,200 Hindu families residing in Peshawar.

Haroon Sarab Dayal, a scholar and social leader of the Hindu community, revealed that old Hindu settlements and temples still exist in Abbottabad, Mansehra, Karak and Peshawar.

"The fact that these 250 to 300-year-old places of worship of the minority community are still preserved today, is solid proof of Hindu-Muslim brotherhood. Among all cities, Peshawar offers utmost respect and protection to its minority community. In K-P, the Hindu community celebrates its festivals with complete religious freedom, something which is not found anywhere else.

Although attempts were made to disturb this peace, even today we stand with the Muslim community in grief and joy," exclaimed Dayal.

Speaking of the establishment of a mosque in front of the temple in Gor Khatri, Noor Khan, the in-charge of the temple and mosque, told The Express Tribune that in 1641, during the reign of King Shah Jahan, Jahan Ara, the king's daughter, ordered the construction of the Gor Khatri complex.

"More than 300 years have passed however, even today everyone respects the mosque and the temple. When international tourists visit Peshawar, they customarily visit this ancient temple.

The existence of a mosque in front of this temple depicts interfaith harmony and sends a positive image of our country to the world," said Khan.