Help us build a Masjid/Mosque in Nadala, Punjab
Hey everyone. My Father, Darshan Singh, and I, Jagpreet Singh, are raising funds to help the Muslim Community in Nadala, Punjab (Dst. Kapurthala) build a Masjid. Nadala is the village my dad was born in and is our ancestral home. Before Partition, Nadala had a thriving Muslim Community, and while the flames of conflict didn't scar our village, threats of violence and general anxiety caused a majority of the Muslim community in Nadala to flee to Pakistan. While a few Sufi Shrines exist in the village, there are no more Masjids.
Over the past few decades many Muslims in India, looking for better economic opportunity in safer states have been moving to and settling in Punjab. There are about 300 Muslim families who currently reside in Nadala, Punjab and make up an important part of our community. At the moment the only space they have to read Namaz or go for Jummah is a tiny room in the back of a shop. Barely 20-30 people can fit there for prayer. Families and devotees have to wait for rounds of folks to finish praying before they can. The closest real masjid is many kilometers away and there are no readily available public transportation options. And since a majority of the community is working-class, it's difficult to find other means to travel there, as well as take the time out to do so.
On top of just the religious accommodations and a place to pray, religious spaces also operate as community centers. They are places for communities to feel safe and secure, a place for folks to celebrate and grieve. A Masjid will go a long way in ensuring the community feels a sense of belonging in their new home. The community has identified plots of land in Nadala and have talked to construction services about pricing, they believe around Rs 7 Lakh($10,000) is what would be needed to buy the land and they can build the building themselves. Let us come together in the spirit of the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor and Guru Nanak Dev Ji to build real solidarity, real change, and impact lives for the better.
