The red stone under my feet is burning hot. I had to tiptoe quickly across it, as otherwise my feet would really burn badly. It is July and the weather has been extremely hot ever since I got to Pakistan. As I run across the entrance into the Badshahi Mosque, I adjust the yellow scarf over my head. I don’t want to offend anyone or show disrespect.
The Mosque is impressive. It is the biggest mosque in Pakistan. It has been build with red stone and beautiful glass paintings can be found on all the windows. The Friday prayers have just finished. The last group of people are just about the leave the main Mosque area. Everyone is dressed in long white clothes and have their heads covered with hats or scarves.
I sit down by the main mandir. The ceiling has been painted with blue and green. There are verses from the Quran written on it and the name of Allah is painted in gold several times. It is stunningly beautiful. No wonder this is one of the main attractions in Lahore.
My friend Halima sits down next to me. We sit in silence observing the beauty of the Mosque and feeling peaceful. After a while, Halima tells me about the basic ideology behind the five compulsory prayers that practicing Muslims are expected to perform every day unless they are travelling or ill.
‘It is all about connecting with God, with our innate nature and serving God as well as our fellow humans. This is what God says - we should show love and compassion for others. We should worship God but also serve other human beings. God created all of us and we should acknowledge us. There is no difference between us, no matter where we re from or what we believe. We should not differentiate between people.The religion is about respect, peace and love. t is about positive aspects of human life, the after life and our innate nature. It is not about bad things, like the media and the West are turning it round to be.’ Halima looks sad. ‘I wish every could understand that our religion is about peace.’
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Faisal mosque rises in front of me. It is much more modern than other mosques that I have been to. Its white modern adhan prayer call towers rise high above; the modern stair cases look like they belong to a museum rather than a mosque. I walked up the stairs. There are many people. It is a Sunday and families have come here on their day off from work and school.
My host from the local UNICEF branch, Rohima, points out some details of the mosque.’This is a modern mosque and the main one in Islamabad nowadays. It was built about ten years ago. The Red mosque used to be the main one... but there was an attack a few years back. Some militants kept children and teachers hostage at the mosque and many people were killed. Ever since then, it’s been closed, as a sign of respect to the victims.’
I remember that attack very well. I was in Pakistan at the time, planning to travel to Islamabad from Lahore when it took place. I had to postpone my trip as a result. The whole country was paralized for some days. No one knew who these militants were and what they were trying to achieve through the attack. There was a school attached to the mosque and this was the main target of the militant attack. Hundreds of innocent children and teachers had died in the attack.
‘You know, it says in the Quran that when an innocent person dies, the whole of humanity is affected. Why can’t all these people understand the real message of our Holy Book?’ Rohima shakes her head. ‘All we want is peace and love. Why is this so hard for other to understand? Power makes people so sick and all the innocent souls suffer.’
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Here are links for the most well-known mosques in Pakistan:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosques_of_Lahore
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