A few years ago I knew by chance from an official in Cairo
governorate that al-Rahman al-Rahim mosque overlooking the main road of Salah
Salem was not authorized to have a ceremonial hall… this happened as I was late
to a meeting I was supposed to be the first to arrive to since I was the
inviter… I apologized and explained how cars were forced to change their course
and go back in the reverse direction so that they may find a way out to avoid
the blockage resulted from cars parking in lines next to the mosque until the
road was completely locked… that official in charge at that time was one of the
guests…
It seems that matters worsened even more that a massive iron
fence was made to separate the side street parallel to the mosque while iron
blockages with the sign “Cairo traffic” written on them erected outside the
fence… also a car-lifting crane in addition to few policemen were deployed to
prevent cars from parking in lines… however, it was in vain!
A short distance from that mosque lies another one; that is the
police mosque where the mosque’s dome bears the shape of a hand grenade and the
end of the minaret has the shape of a bullet… situated in the side street next
to the police mosque is the traffic department…
A short distance before that mosque lies the way coming down
from al-Bo’outh al-Islamiya bridge where cars come down sometimes rushing and
most times slowing because of the huge number of cars lining and pedestrians crossing
the street without any traffic light or pedestrians’ passing lines and away
from any discipline practiced from any responsible authorities… there have been
many running over and crashing accidents by cars in this place… moreover, many
quarrels and arguments erupted due to disorder in orchestrating car traffic and
pedestrians’ crossing… also, due to people coming to offer their condolences in
the ceremonial halls embracing them.
On the other side lies Abuelmakarem el-Zoghl mosque; the
relatively far from the main road but the vibrant activity of people coming
there to offer condolences along with their cars affect the main road of Salah
Salem… as this road of Salah Salem encompasses many ceremonial halls associated
to some arms and departments in the armed forces where some occasions like
weddings and banquets are held.
This is the case of one of the most important roads affecting
traffic movement in Cairo and which is getting worse in the very same road when
it diverts into three branches only short distance after the police mosque… the
right lane leads to al-Ga’fari street, al-Azhar headquarter and dar al-Ifta…
the middle lane leads to al-Azhar tunnel… and the left one leads to the famous al-Azhar
park…
You would be very unlucky if it happened that you were in this
place in the time period from afternoon until evening when cars pile up and some
try to play smart… cars, especially pick-ups and microbuses, come from the most
right side to the far left side towards the citadel to cut the road before
those moving in their course blocking the entrance of the tunnel and peeping
out their horns… not to mention the ugly words you hear like “what’s wrong?...
what do you want?... do you want me to hit your car?... mine is junk but yours
is very expensive”.
Here, we find ourselves standing before a situation that is
highly significant… as mosques are supposed to be built in the first place to
worship God and hold prayers … and to call for simplicity and easiness on
people… however, you discover that if we have allocated the money spent
generously on these mosques to find solutions for the problems of education,
health and production, we’d have participated in achieving the very essential
purpose of religion; that is helping people to build and spread goodness in
earth…
Of course, all those who have spent their money in such aspect
are most appreciated… but I here ask because I don’t know: shall mosques act
against the law and practice activities that are not authorized to? Has our
religion called for mosques to turn into a reason to make people’s normal life
impossible? And should it continue like this without finding a solution?
We here talk about a unified law for worshipping places in which
all these places are equal and regarded as sources of love, peace, role models
of respecting law and enhancing people’s behavior… We have to tackle and
discuss such thing… also, the state has to put an end to such problem so that
mosques do not turn into places spreading harm regardless of the good intention
of those who have volunteered to build and fund them… what is the definition of
harm if it is not turning goodness into threatening people’s life and
disrespecting law?
Moreover, there is another problem; that is noise pollution
through microphones that is still worsening… I here mention that some of those
who put their life savings in buying a residence in a place where they thought
they could find some quietness missing in Cairo, are standing helplessly before
those who insist on putting eight or may be ten microphones over one minaret…
then you find the ugly voice void of any melody or beauty roaring every prayer
to frighten people…
I remember when I went once to the mosque to have Ishaa prayers and
asked about the one who echoed al-Azaan… I asked him if he had ever heard of
the quranic verse saying “do not recite [too]
loudly in your prayer or [too] quietly but seek between that an [intermediate]
way”, verse 110 of al-Isra chapter… I also asked him if he knew that Prophet
Muhammed – Peace be upon him – had ordered Belal be the one calling for prayers
because he had the most beautiful voice… again, I asked him about the use of
shouting out loud with his coarse voice through the highest level of volume for
the eight microphones especially that there were more neighboring mosques and
that residents were very few in the area?
The answer, which he thought would make me speechless, was “well,
but why don’t we see you often in the mosque?”… The man believed that only
those who come frequently to the mosque are the only ones allowed to ask and
talk!
Finally, I doubt any official may interfere to find a solution
for such tragedy taking place over the main road of Salah Salem… as who will
tell the police to fix the situation around their mosque… to make a bridge or
tunnel for pedestrians… to transfer the ceremonial hall into al-Moshir Tantawi
mosque for example… or even to build another mosque for police in a more
spacious area?... who will discuss the legality of non-authorized ceremonial
halls in al-Rahman al-Rahim mosque?... who will ask to make certain side lanes separated
by platforms from the main road in front of the clubs and ceremonial halls
bearing the name of many arms and departments associated to our great army?
Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar
Translated into English by: Dalia Elnaggar
This article was published in Almasry
alyoum newspaper on August 31, 2016.
To see the original Arabic article, go
to:
#almasry_alyoum #ahmed_elgammal
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