Though Muslims in Hyderabad are a minority today, the rich Muslim heritage of Hyderabad is inextricable from the city as it leaps forward to becoming a metropolis at a breathtaking pace.The erstwhile Muslim rulers of the city have bequeathed the city with numerous vestiges that stand today as glorious examples of architecture, culture and spirituality. Scores of these structures stand in decrepit conditions and unfortunately many of them are mosques.What’s even worse is that the authorities have sealed the entrances of several of these mosques effectively stopping worshippers from praying in them, which was the very purpose they were built for. Here are four of them.
Shaikpet Qutb Shahi Mosque
Shaikpet today is one of the most prime locations of the city. This mosque lies in its heart and stands in a dilapidated condition with huge cracks in its walls and algae lining atop its badly damaged minarets. The last time I visited it a tree was springing out of its wall that faced the Qibla. Many Muslim families live close by this mosque, some even cross it on their way to reach other mosques to pray on a daily basis. The construction style of this mosque indicated that it perhaps was a precursor to the Toli Mosque at Karwan. This suggests that effectively is over 400 years old. Coordinates: 17.403435, 78.399890
Great Mosque at Qutb Shahi Tombs
Thanks to a massive restoration project that is currently underway, the mosque has regained its lost glory albeit is devoid of worshippers. This mosque that stands next to the tomb of one of the most celebrated women in Deccan history, Hayat Bakshi Begum, is one of the largest of all historic mosques in Telangana yet stands empty as prayers are not allowed inside it.Coordinates: 17.396998, 78.396679
Mulla Khayali Mosque
I remember venturing out to the Naya Qila area without knowing what to expect. There lo and behold was this charming mosque standing high atop a plinth. The mosque was built by celebrated calligraphist and poet Mulla Khayali in 1569 AD during the reign of Ibrahim Qutb Shah. The mosque originally has several acres of land under its records now stands with a substantial portion of its land encroached by an elite golf course.Coordinates: 17.392805, 78.410540
Mustafa Khan Mosque
Another mosque of the Naya Qilla area, this mosque too has its surrounding encroached by the rolling greens of the golf course. The mosque was built in the memory of Mustafa Khan who is famous for having designed some of Hyderabad’s most iconic structures including the Naya Qila area of the Golconda Fort and the Toli Mosque.Coordinates: 17.389838, 78.413969
The ASI (Archaeology Survey of India) under whose precincts most of the abandoned mosques lie has repeatedly turned down the pleas of Muslims of the city to be allowed to pray at these mosques stating that “the mosques were not functional at the time of handover to the ASI.”But this statement of theirs clearly doesn’t hold water as there have been numerous instances where even the apex court has allowed worshippers to pray in places that weren’t being used as a place of worship at the time of handover to the ASI.
