‘Ayodhya’s mosque to be India’s biggest’

NEW DELHI: The foundation stone for the proposed mosque, Masjid Mohammad Bin Abdullah, in Ayodhya will be laid by the Imam Masjid-e-Haram, who leads namaz at the holy mosque in Makkah, Indian media reported.

The mosque is being constructed at Dhannipur, 25 kms from Ayodhya, on a plot provided by the Uttar Pradesh government in accordance with the Supreme Court’s order in the Ayodhya dispute.

Haji Arafat Shaikh, a BJP leader from Mumbai, has been appointed as the chairman of the Masjid Muhammad Bin Abdullah’s Development Committee. He stated that the new mosque, set to be the largest in India, will house the world’s biggest Quran, measuring 21 feet high and 36 feet wide.

The Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation, formed on July 29, 2020, initially took on the responsibility of building the Ayodhya mosque and other amenities. Along with the consecration of the first brick, a new design of the mosque was also unveiled. The mosque will have five minarets symbolizing the five pillars of Islam -- kalima, namaz, roza, Haj, and zakat. Shaikh, who is a trustee of the foundation and now the head of the mosque’s development committee, shared that the complex will also include a cancer hospital, schools and colleges, a museum, a library, and a vegetarian kitchen where visitors will be offered free food. One of the highlights will be a large aquarium near the ablution space, with separate sections for men and women.