By Twocircles.net Staff Reporter,
Kozhikode: In what could be termed as an effort to reach out to the minority community in Kerala, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for the first time in history, is likely to visit the Cheraman Juma Masjid at Kodungallur in Thrissur district. If things pan out as expected, the Prime Minister will visit the country’s oldest mosque during his visit to Kerala, which is scheduled to be held in July or August.
Ahead to the visit, the officials of the district administration, including district collector M S Jaya have conducted a primary visit to the mosque in a bid to assess the arrangements.
Cheraman Juma Masjid, as it stands now.
Cheraman Juma Masjid committee president Dr. Zaid Mohammed, while having a talk with Twocircles.net, said that they were yet to get any official confirmation from the authorities concerned.
Meanwhile, it is stated that the main purpose of the visit would be to inaugurate the completion of the first phase of Muziris heritage project, proposed by the State Tourism Department to uplift the ancient history of Kodungallur and nearby localities. The first mosque in India was built at Kodungallur, one of the historic cities of south India, in 629 by a group of Arabs, led by Malik Bin Dinar and Malik Bin Habeeb.
State Tourism Department secretary G Kamala Vardhana Rao told media persons that the Prime Minister had agreed to visit Kodungallur to inaugurate the Muziris project. According to him, the date is yet to be fixed.
Dr Said Mohammed said that the mosque committee was all set to give the Prime Minister a befitting welcome.
“We are extremely happy to hear that the Prime Minister is visiting the mosque. Two years back we got a disappointing reply from the authorities while we tried to give a memento to the President A P J Abdul Kalam during his visit to the mosque. This time, we will convey the authorities our desire and will hand over the Prime Minister a memento, which highlights the cultural and social tradition of Kerala,” he said.
Related:
Cheraman Juma Masjid: The first Masjid of India