Imam of Nakhoda Masjid stops religious congregation at the masjid from today for COVID-19

Kolkata, 25 March (HS); For the first time in its long history, the Imam of the city’s largest and most famous Nakhoda Masjid has barred the daily religious congregation inside the masjid from today and prevented the people from offering their daily Namaz (prayer) there to help stop the spread of deadly Coronavirus among the common people.

In a sermon to the members of the minority community in the city this afternoon, the Imam of Nakhoda Masjid Maulana Mohammad Shafiq Kashmi said nobody should come to the Majid from today to offer the Namaj which they could also perform from their own residences or houses.

‘There is no need to come and pray in the Masjid complex because such congregation might cause further spread of the killer COVID-19”, he said in his sermon and urged everybody of the community to abide by the appeal made by Prime minister Narendra Modi through his televised address to the Nation last night asking everybody to remain indoors for the next 21 days.

Also urging the members of the minority community to fully support the directives of the state as well as the union governments in fighting the killer disease, the Imam asked the people not to roam around in streets without any purpose and should not organise any mass gathering anywhere during the entire locked down period of 21 days from today under any circumstances.

‘You must all understand the importance of the issue and danger associated with the disease’, he said and stated that only four to five senior members of the community could come to the Masjid in Nakhoda Masjid and elsewhere in the state to offer prayers and for other daily rituals.

Underscoring the importance of fighting unitedly the COVID -19, the Imam of Nakhoda Masjid quoting from the Quoran stated that ‘we must all should remain well and healthy to serve the All-mighty’.

Incidentally, both the famous Kali Temples at Kalighat and Dhakshineswar in the city along with the famous Ramakrishna Math and Mission at Belur in neighbouring Howrah have remained closed to the public for over a week now for the same reason.