Al-Anoud Mosque embraces spirit of coexistence

DAMMAM: A photograph showing a group of diverse worshippers praying in the Al-Anoud Mosque in Dammam is not strange or surprising. This is unfortunately the mosque where a suicide bomber detonated explosives on Friday.
The mosque was built in the 1980s and accommodates about 7,000 worshippers. Prayers used to be performed by Shiite imams but the mosque is open and receives all Muslims without differentiating between their affiliations.
On Fridays, the mosque was crowded with worshippers, both Sunni and Shiite.
The mosque was built according to an Islamic architectural style which combines modernity and tradition; it is located in the middle of Al-Anoud district and is a destination for many visitors, both local and those from Gulf countries.
It is seen as one of the leading mosques which embrace the spirit of tolerance and coexistence.
Headed by Ali Al-Nasser, the management of the mosque adopted the idea that the mosque be turned into a center for rapprochement, convergence and fraternity, but the recent suicide bombing in the Al-Qadeeh Mosque in Qatif forced the management to prevent women from attending and performing Friday prayers for their own protection.
During his Friday sermon, Ali Al-Nasser, the prayer leader, was speaking about rejecting violence and terrorism and praying for the souls of the martyrs. He said that the bombing was part of “an agenda to tear apart the national unity and security and peace of our beloved Kingdom” when all of sudden the worshippers heard the sound of the bomb outside. One man in the mosque recorded the moment on his mobile camera.
When the source of the explosion was clear, stories began to unfold. First it was said that an over-heated car had exploded, then more details came, saying that a terrorist attack on the worshippers in the mosque had been thwarted.
The corridors of the mosque were stained with blood and body parts and citizens nearby documented the whole horror scene.