I want to draw attention to the lack of mosques in the Al Qasimia area in Sharjah. There is only one proper mosque available in this area, and all the residents of this heavily populated area are forced to use this mosque.
There are approximately 50 residential buildings here. Imagine all these residents using one mosque for the Friday prayer. This can accommodate only around 70 worshippers at a time. But, an average of 200 people are gathering here for prayers, which increased to around 400 on Fridays.
At this point, the street gets blocked for more than 30 minutes, while the residents pray. People living in nearby buildings find it hard to go out during this time because the street is covered with worshippers and their prayer mats (as seen in photograph).
If we compare the number of mosques in the nearby areas, there are at least two mosques per area. For example, the Bu Daniq area has two big mosques and a third mosque is under construction. Sector Al Nud has two permanent and one temporary mosque. There are more than three mosques available in the Abu Shagara, too.
Additionally, there is no arrangement for ablution in the mosque in the Al Qasimia area, too. People use toilets in the nearby building, which are locked most of the time. Regular users of this mosque are well aware for this issue and they perform ablution from home before coming to the mosque for prayers. But, it is a critical problem for visitors.
My request to the concerned authorities of Sharjah is to look into this issue and arrange for a larger mosque or prayer area for the resident of Al Qasimia.
— The reader is based in Sharjah.
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