Muslim leaders want Modi to lay foundation of Ayodhya mosque

AYODHYA: A section of the Muslim community has made an appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lay the foundation stone of the mosque in Dhannipur village of Sohawal tehsil, when he visits the holy town on January 22 for the consecration ceremony of Ram Temple.

“Modi is India’s PM. He is for Hindus and Muslims both. If he is coming to inaugurate the ‘ibadatgaah’ (place of worship) of Hindu brothers, then he should also lay the foundation for the masjid,” said Mufti Hisbullah Badshah Khan, president, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind, Ayodhya.

Athar Husain, secretary of Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation, the Ayodhya Masjid Trust, said, “We wanted to build a free cancer hospital, a mosque, a community kitchen and a research centre dedicated to Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah Faizabadi, the hero of 1857 freedom struggle. The PM’s presence can serve our goal. We will welcome him.”

Iqbal Ansari, former litigant in the Ayodhya case, said, “Modi is not the PM of any particular community. He is doing everything for the temple, he should do it for the masjid too.”