Members of the Muslim community have called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lay the foundation stone for an upcoming mosque in Ayodhya. This request follows the PM’s invitation to the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in mid-January next year, even though construction has not yet begun on the land allocated by the Supreme Court following the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid verdict. However, concerns have been raised about the possible politicization of the matter.
Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind leader Mufti Hisbullah Badshah Khan stated, “Modi is India’s PM. He is for Hindus and Muslims both. If he is coming to inaugurate the ‘Ibadatgaah’ of Hindu brothers, then he should also lay the foundation of the masjid.”
Leaders from the Indian Union Muslim League and Payam-e-Insaniyat have also supported the idea of the PM laying the foundation stone of the mosque.
However, some, like the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF), a trust formed to build the mosque and other community facilities on the designated land, have expressed reservations. They believe it is unfair to politicize the project when the mosque’s design has not been approved, and funding remains a challenge.
The 2019 Supreme Court verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute had granted five acres of land to the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board for mosque construction. As of early October, construction work had not commenced due to insufficient funds.
The IICF trust plans to construct a hospital, community kitchen, and mosque on the allocated premises, with an estimated project cost of ₹300 crore. Of this amount, ₹280 crore will be allocated to the hospital and community kitchen.
“IICF decided that due to the lack of funds, the mosque will be constructed first, and after that, the hospital and community kitchen will be built,” stated organization secretary Athar Hussain at the beginning of the month.
