I personally feel this was a very noble gesture by the Sikh community. I dont know if any Muslim community would have the guts to return such a favor, even if they wanted to. Chances are, someone from within the community would have raised an issue of ‘desecration’.
*(http://news.oneindia.in/2012/08/22/joshimath-muslims-offered-eid-namaaz-at-gurdwara-1057780.html)](http://news.oneindia.in/2012/08/22/joshimath-muslims-offered-eid-namaaz-at-gurdwara-1057780.html)
Dehradun, Aug 22: The Sikhs of Joshimath, a small town in the state of Uttarakhand, have set an example by allowing the Muslim community to offer namaaz at their gurdwara on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr.
Every year, Muslims congregate at the Gandhi Maidan in the town but this time it was raining heavily and the ground was consequently slushy. Hence, Sardar Buta Singh who is the gurdwara’s prabandhak informed that its main hall can be used by the Muslims to offer prayers.
Accepting the large-hearted invitation, many of the town’s Muslim residents entered the gurdwara at 9.30 a.m and participated in the Eid namaaz. Subsequently the Sikhs and the Muslims embraced each other. Some Hindus too joined in the Eid celebrations there.
Afterwards, Sardar Buta Singh said that he had invited the Muslims to the gurdwara since they were not able to offer worship in the open due to the downpour.
Hailing the gurdwara committee’s exemplary humanity, Maulvi Asif thanked it for the solving the problem which the Muslims had been facing. He added that the committee had shown everyone how to respect all religions.
Joshimath, 250 kms away from Rishikesh, is situated near two famous places of worship - Badrinath and Hemkunt Sahib. Lakhs of Hindus flock to the former all throughout the year while the latter is an important pilgrimage centre of Sikhs.*