Mohammed Mirza Is Documenting India’s Abandoned and Decrepit Mosques

Across India, hundreds of mosques, once filled with worshippers and sounds of prayers now lie abandoned in varying states of disrepair. Like many historical sites in the country, these mosques lie forsaken, some due to neglect and some due to illegal encroachments.

Hoping to spread awareness about their plight, 30-year-old Mohammed Mirza is using social media to document abandoned mosques and heritage buildings in different states of decay.

Hyderabad-based Mirza is a history and travel enthusiast and works as a social media executive in a private firm. His Instagram account @MosquesofIndia shows dilapidated buildings, old derelict monuments with overgrown weeds, and halls with dust and rubble.

Mirza’s interest in abandoned mosques arose almost a decade ago while walking through the streets of Shaikpet in Hyderabad. Mirza says he was disturbed to see the historic Shaikpet mosque, which once was filled with the sound of azan and the recitation of the Qur’an succumbing to structural damage. That’s when he embarked on a journey to research and write about the abandoned “Mosques of India.”

Listen to Mohammed Mirza in conversation with The Cognate’s Shaik Zakeer Hussain talk about his project and what he intends to achieve out of it.