Fire at Masjid Kampung Siglap

There was a fire at Siglap mosque early afternoon yesterday.  Seems the fire was started deliberately and it spread quickly, destroying the roof in the end.  I did not know of the fire until I arrived home last night and Mom told me as I sat having dinner.  The fire at the mosque was all over the papers today.

Siglap mosque is right across where I currently stay.  Many people regard them being close to a mosque if its 5min away by car but I am much closer because it takes me that long just to walk there.  The mosque has been around for a long time, it being the mosque for the Siglap fishing village.  It was re-built to modernity and recently renovated to create annexures, an administrative block with classrooms and office space.  I would describe the current structure as being urban one hand, and traditional on the other.  The original mosque structure has remained preserved; in fact, the new superstructure is built around the old mosque.

I know the mosque well because it has been my place of refuge in times of need and want.  I enjoy the solitude there before the prayer call, especially in the weekday afternoon when there are not many people.  I regard Siglap mosque as my neighborhood mosque and I used to visit it often, sometimes even to just poke my head around for a look-see.  I have even brought Jamie there, just so he would know where I go to.

The occasion of the fire brought me back to thoughts of the mosque, simply because I had been in neglect. It is not possible to neglect a concrete structure, and at the end of the day, a building is a building; I have been neglecting my religion.

Nothing was more true than what I felt when I cycled past the mosque last night.  There were people milling around, no doubt wanting to offer assistance in any way possible.  I felt guilty for not stopping at all, and more so when it reminded me that I had done this many times during Ramadan just past.  My runs during the fasting month had always commenced at 8-ish pm, with me running past the mosque, and the achievement of running during the fasting month (what with the lack of food and drink) is now overshadowed by the fact that I missed terawiq prayers.  These are not the only prayers that I have missed.

The same long line of cars were there last night, as they were every night during the fasting month.