Ayodhya Mosque Construction To Begin In May After Ramadan, Says Muslim Group

As Ayodhya witnesses the Ram Temple Inauguration today, the Muslim community plans for a new mosque in May this year.

Ayodhya: Muslim women walk past the land allocated for the construction of Muhammad Bin Abdullah Masjid at Dhannipur, in Ayodhya district

Source : PTI Photo/Arun Sharma

As Ayodhya witnesses the Ram Temple Inauguration today, the Muslim community plans for a new mosque in the same city later this year.

The Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) that is overseeing the mosque construction project, said that the construction will begin in May this year, the Reuters reported.

The head of the development committee of the IICF, Haji Arfat Shaikh told the news agency that the construction will begin in the holy month of Ramadan, and the mosque would take three to four years to be completed.

Babri Mosque was a 16th century mosque that was demolished by a mob of Hindu Karsewaks in 1992. 

Before the demolition the site had been disputed since the 19th century as the Hindu community claimed that the mosque was built by Mughal Emperor Babur over an ancient temple on the site that marked the birthplace of Hindu God Ram.

The destruction of the mosque sparked nationwide riots that killed nearly 2,000 people.

The Supreme Court in 2019 verdict said that the razing of the mosque was unlawful. However, as the Muslim community could not prove a continued possession of the disputed land, the court ordered that the site be given to the deity Ram Lala. 

The court also directed that the Muslim community leaders be given land elsewhere in the city for constructing a mosque.

According to the report, the Muslim groups have struggled to raise funds for the construction of the mosque and begin work at a desolate site about 25 km (15 miles) away from the Ram temple site.

The report said that Hindu groups with the help of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) began collecting donations more than three decades ago and have collected more than 30 billion rupees ($360 million) from 40 million people in India.

According to the IICF secretary Athar Hussain, another reason for delay in the mosque project was because it had to be redrawn to add more traditional elements in the structure, like minarets.

Shaikh, who is also a BJP leader told the Reuters that a crowd-funding website is expected to be launched in the coming weeks. 

The mosque will be called "Masjid Muhammed bin Abdullah" after Prophet Mohammad. And a 500-bed hospital has also been planned in the same complex.