Jama Masjid bans entry of tourists inside prayer hall after TikTok video goes viral

New Delhi: 55-year-old Kaifiyat Khan, a member of the civil defence, moves around the historic Jama Masjid Courtyard with a baton keeping an eye on visitors. His job is to stop them from clicking the photographs and making videos.

Several other men in Kurta Pyjamas are seen warning young boys and girls not to click pictures or take selfies at the mosque. Just outside the elevated prayer hall inside Jama Masjid courtyard, a fixed whiteboard reads, "No tourists allowed beyond this point'. This decision was taken by the management committee after two foreigner girls made a TikTok video inside the prayer hall getting upside down. The video went viral on social media creating an uproar over the dance video.

"No one is allowed to make a video here after that video of the two girls dancing inside the prayer hall went viral. Hundreds of tourists visit the mosque daily and everybody is so excited to click a picture or make a video but the way things turned out in the recent past exhibiting indecency within the mosque, the entry to the prayer hall has been restricted. Only people offering namaz are allowed inside the prayer hall," said Kaifiyat Khan.

The foreigner girls visiting the mosque are provided with a long gown to cover the body. The two girls who made the TikTok Video were seen wearing the gown.

However, the girls who seem to be simply standing at the prayer hall inside the mosque suddenly turned upside down in a rhythm in a 16-second video.

This is not the only video, another video showed an Indian boy making dance moves in the Jama Masjid courtyard while another filmed the act on the mobile.

A girl in the white top is also seen making dance moves within the Jama Masjid premises.

Another 31-second video showed two boys holding a young boy by his hands and legs and throwing him into the water in the "Wazu khana" in the centre of the courtyard.

"Its also exciting to see the architecture inside the prayer hall, it is sad that entry for foreigners has been restricted to a particular area. Everyone should not bear the brunt of misadventure done by some young women or men," said a foreigner who did not wish to be named.