Modi, the mosque and the Muslim country, why is Egypt’s visit special? After Sheikh Zayed, Istiklal, now the turn of Al-Hakim Mosque

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the historic Al-Hakim Mosque in Old Cairo during his first visit to Egypt this week after the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi in 2015 and Indonesia’s grand Istiqlal Mosque in 2018. The nearly 1,000-year-old Al-Hakim Mosque has been restored over six years with the help of the Dawoodi Bohra community and recently reopened. Government officials termed such mosque visits by PM Modi as significant and that the PM was aware of the religious beliefs of Islamic nations.

PM visited Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in UAE

The PM had visited the UAE in 2015 and visited the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, which is the third largest mosque in the world. PM Modi visited the Sheikh Zayed Mosque after being received at the airport by the UAE’s top leadership. In 2018, the PM had visited the Istiklal Mosque in Indonesia during the holy month of Ramadan. It is the national mosque of Indonesia and the largest mosque in Southeast Asia. Modi was accompanied by the Indonesian President during his visit to the mosque.

PM Modi to visit Al-Hakim Mosque during Egypt visit

The mosque, named after the sixth Fatimid caliph, is located in the heart of Cairo and has been renovated and renovated since 2017 before opening earlier this year. The Dawoodi Bohra community, which has strong ties with India, co-funded the renovation of the mosque. It is expected that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will accompany PM Modi during his visit to the Al-Hakim Mosque. The Arab Republic is part of PM Modi’s two-day state visit to Egypt from June 24-25 at the invitation of el-Sisi after attending India’s Republic Day celebrations as the ‘chief guest’.