Grand mosque Open House records high participation

Manama

The two-day Open House at the Grand Mosque, which concluded yesterday, witnessed unprecedented number of participants as around two thousand people paid visits.

Speaking to DT News, the representative of organisers, Religious guide Najma Mohammed Naeem said that they were not expecting such a massive turnout as it is being held on the third and fourth day of Eid instead of the usual first and second days when more people tend to come. She expressed satisfaction over the number of participants.

Eid Open House festival was organised, exclusively for non-Muslims, by the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs in collaboration with Discover Islam Bahrain. The objective of the event, which is being held since 1998, was to spread the spirit of Eid Al Adha with non-Muslim communities by providing them an opportunity to visit Grand Mosque and have a firsthand experience with Islamic culture. The visitors were served with zam zam water, Arabic coffee, tea and sweets as a token of love and hospitality.

Najma said that apart from the Eid Open House, the Grand Mosque was open for the visitors during normal days from 9am to 4pm all days except Fridays. She said that the visitors can come individually or as small groups but a group of more than 15 individuals needed to book at least a day in advance. 

English tour guides are available on the spot during normal days. Tour guides for many other languages could also be made available if requested well in advance. The service languages include Italian, French, Russian, Spanish, German, Filipino, Urdu and Hindi etc. The visitors can explore the Islamic culture by wearing traditional Arabic outfits and visiting the ‘corners’  or various outlets at the Mosque.