Ariful Islam/Guwahati

The inauguration of a Jume Masjid in Sivasagar district of eastern Assam by representatives from prominent Hindu organisations and establishments has lately been celebrated across Assam as yet another example of communal harmony and amity.

Close on the heels of Durga Puja celebrations and just ahead of Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi that is being celebrated by Muslims of Assam along with the rest of the world on Tuesday, people from different religious beliefs congregated to inaugurate the renovated Jume Masjid at Ghilaguri in Luthuri Chetia Gaon of Betbari in Sivasagar district on October 17.

Representatives of Srimanta Shankar Sangha, Naamghar (Neo-Vaisnavite community prayer hall) and Satra (Vaishnavite monastery) from different parts of Sivasagar, the capital district of the Ahoms who ruled Assam for 600 years, took part in the ceremony.

The congregation indeed stood symbolic to the ideals of the Neo-Vaisnavite saint reformer Srimanta Sankaradeva and Sufi saint Ajan Fakir in front of the people of Assam. Incidentally, the dwargah of the iconic Sufi saint Ajan Peer is also situated in Sivasagar district.

The jume masjid at Ghilaguri was established in 1935, and was renovated recently under the initiative of the mosque’s management committee. The new mosque is a two-storied and well-decorated building with all necessary amenities installed.

After the inauguration, the guests addressed the gathering inside the mosque. “Although the mosque is a place of prayers for the believers of Islam, people of different races and ethnicities are involved in it.

The presence of all religions has reaffirmed that we the people of Sivasagar have always maintained brotherhood among Hindus and Muslims and are bound by the same thread of love and harmony. Our objective is to spread a message of brotherhood from Ghilaguri Jume Masjid.