RECENTLY an actor and actress shot a music video featuring a nikah scene in the premises of historic Masjid Wazir Khan in Lahore.

While they are being condemned in general, some people say this was ‘not a big deal’, arguing some moulvis even sexually assault children inside mosques.

Every place has its own moral and ethical values. One cannot smoke a cigarette or drink wine in a classroom even if one lives in a developed country and a free society. Likewise, you cannot speak loudly in a library. We can’t justify one wrong thing with another.

A mosque is a place of worship where people offer prayers and seek forgiveness from God. We cannot sing a song there, and we can’t unnecessarily talk there. Mosques have sanctity.

There is another major question regarding this incident: who gave these actors the permission to shoot a music video inside the mosque?

We know we can’t do anything in a mosque without the permission of the imam of the mosque. It was a government mosque and should also have one custodian.

Muhammad Abid
Karachi

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2020