Wearing burqa has been made compulsory for women thronging to witness the intricately chiselled marble stone screens and other architectural master pieces of the Indo-Grecian period at the 17th century mosque. Those fashioning scanty dress are unwelcome to the next mosque next to the Charminar which receives about 1,000 visitors per day.
Except for the duration of five prayer breaks in a day, visitors are allowed inside till late evening. Women tourists wearing skirts and tank tops are stopped at the entrance. Visitors of all religious affinities are asked to wear burqa. However, there is no compulsion on the visitors to cover their head and face. Maulana Alhaj Abdullah Quraishi Al-Azhari, Imam and Khateeb of Mecca Masjid, said there was nothing new about the dress code.
“It has been there from time immemorial that one should not enter the mosque bare bodied or with foot wear,” he said.
He said the mosque authorities had to impose the regulations in the wake of hordes of foreign and tourist women coming to mosque clad in skirts and skimpy tank tops in the last few weeks.
After the bomb blast that killed 12 people in August 2007, the government has beefed up security at the mosque. A company of sleuths comprising commandos and CRPF guard the mosque round the clock and on Fridays, the security is doubled as thousands gather for the ceremonial afternoon prayers.
Mecca Masjid is one of the largest mosques in south India with a capacity to accommodate 10,000 worshippers in one go at prayers. The construction of the mosque began in 1614 under Muhammad Qutub Shah and was completed in 1693 by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
Small red bricks believed to have come from Mecca are positioned above the central arch and it also houses the tombs of the Nizams of the Asaf Jahi dynasty from 1803. The prayer hall has five aisles, three bays deep.
The circular corner minars with octagonal balconies are small in height; they were never carried above the parapet level. The capping domes were added later by the Mughals. The architectural beauty and its size make the mosque one of ten largest mosques in the world.