PM Narendra Modi to Visit Historic Al-Hakim Mosque in Egypt's Old Cairo | A Look at His Mosque Visits

After the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi in 2015 and Indonesia’s grand Istiqlal Mosque in 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the historic Al-Hakim mosque in Old Cairo during his first visit to Egypt this week.

The Al-Hakim mosque, a nearly 1,000-year-old structure, was restored over six years with the help of the Dawoodi Bohra community and was recently reopened.

Government officials described such mosque visits by PM Modi as “significant” and the PM being cognisant of the religious beliefs of the Islamic nations he has visited.

The PM had visited the UAE in 2015 and been to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, which is the third largest mosque in the world. This was after the top UAE leadership turned up at the airport to receive him.

In 2018, the PM visited the Istiqlal Mosque in Indonesia in the holy month of Ramadan – this is the national mosque of Indonesia and the largest mosque in south-east Asia. Modi was accompanied by the Indonesian President during the Mosque visit.

The mosque, named after the sixth Fatimid caliph, is located in the heart of Cairo and has been renovated and restored since 2017 before it was opened earlier this year.

The Dawoodi Bohra community, which has strong links with India, has co-funded the restoration of the mosque. It is expected that the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi will accompany PM Modi during the visit to the Al-Hakim Mosque.

The Indian government on Monday revealed the plan for PM Modi’s two-nation tour to USA and Egypt this week.

Modi will also visit the Heliopolis Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery in Cairo, which serves as a memorial to nearly 4,000 soldiers from the Indian Army who died during First World War.

This is part of the two-day state visit of PM Modi to the Arab Republic of Egypt from June 24-25 at the invitation of El-Sisi after he had graced India’s Republic Day celebrations as the ‘chief guest’.

Apart from his talks with President Sisi, the Prime Minister is likely to interact with senior dignitaries from the Egyptian Government, some prominent Egyptian personalities, as well as the Indian community in Egypt, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.