Imam From Mecca To Lay Foundation Of New Mosque In Ayodhya

New Delhi: The Imam Imam-e-Haram or the Imam who leads namaz at the holy mosque near the Kaaba in Mecca, will lay the foundation of the new mosque in Ayodhya, called Masjid Mohammad Bin Abdullah. This mosque will replace the Babri Masjid, but it will be located at a different spot in Ayodhya. The mosque is being constructed at Dhannipur on a plot that the Uttar Pradesh government had allotted to the Muslims following the Supreme Court order in the Ayodhya dispute. The plot is situated 25 kilometres from Ayodhya.

Haji Arafat Shaikh, Chairman of the Masjid Muhammad Bin Abdullah’s Development Committee and Mumbai-based BJP leader, stated that the new mosque in Ayodhya would have the biggest Quran in the world. It will be 21 feet high and 36 feet wide. The new mosque will likely be the biggest in India, as reported by TOI.

Initially, the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation, the Trust formed on July 29, 2020, had taken up the construction work of Ayodhya mosque and a few other amenities. At a function attended by several clerics in October 2023, Chairman Zufar Ahmed Farooqui announced that the mosque would be named Masjid Muhammad Bin Abdullah.

Besides the consecration of the first brick, a new design of the mosque was launched during the function. The new mosque will have five minarets symbolising five pillars of Islam – Kalima, Namaz, Roza, Haj and Zaka, reported TOI quoting Shaikh. He said that he had been made the head of the mosque’s development committee.

“Apart from the mosque, the complex will also have a cancer hospital, schools and colleges, a museum, a library and a kitchen that would serve only vegetarian food to the visitors for free,” said Shaikh. He added that a huge aquarium near the Wazu Khana or ablution space, with separate sections for men and women, would be a major attraction.

According to Shaikh, the beauty of the new mosque will outshine the Taj Mahal. “It will be more beautiful than the Taj Mahal and people of all faiths will come to see this monument to peace and harmony even if not all of them will pray here,” said Shaikh. He added that the evening falls and fountains at the mosque during evening namaz would enhance the mosque’s beauty.