Ayodhya Muslims set example

Donate for Ram Temple construction, say no love lost between communities

Setting yet another example of communal harmony in the temple town, Muslims of Ayodhya have opened their hearts in making donations for construction of the grand Ram temple.

Over a dozen prominent Muslims in Ayodhya have contributed to the fund-raising drive led by the local Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) functionaries. “There is nothing new. It is our age-old tradition of participating in each other’s religious ceremonies,” said Iqbal Ansari, son of late Hashim Ansari, who was one of the oldest litigants of the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri mosque dispute case.

Talking to the FPJ, Ansari said that the gesture by Muslims in Ayodhya has shown that no love is lost between the members of the two communities after the Ram temple verdict. “We prefer peaceful and brotherly co-existence rather than falling prey to religious divide by vested political interests,” he claimed.

Ansari said that he will also make donations for the construction of the Ram temple. He, however, claimed that it will be a ‘Gupt Daan’ (secret donation). “Donations are never trumpeted. They are for a sacred cause and not to be revealed,” he pointed.

Ansari hoped that the Hindus will also come forward and reciprocate in a similar manner by making donations for construction of the mosque in Ayodhya. “This will cement ties further between the members of the two communities not only in Ayodhya but in the entire country,” he said.