Hanumangarhi temple will bear the cost of rebuilding the masjid.
Setting a marvelous example of communal harmony, a temple trust in Ayodhya has approved the reconstruction of a masjid situated on land belonging to it. Surprisingly, the temple trust will bear the cost of reconstruction.
The Times of India reported that the management of Hanumangarhi temple in Ayodhya has expressed their consent to reconstruct Aalamgiri Masjid at their own cost just days after it was being declared ‘hazardous’ by the local civic body.
The Aalamgiri Masjid was built in Ayodhya in the 17th century by one of the generals of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. In 1765 Nawab Shujauddaulah donated the land of the masjid to Hanumangarhi temple of Ayodhya on the condition that namaz would be continued.
The masjid has been lying abandoned for years. The building deteriorated as it has not been renovated for years. Taking into account the condition of the masjid, Ayodhya municipal board decided to ban namaz and entry into the masjid.
After the municipal board put up a notice on the wall of the masjid banning entry into it, some local Muslims floated the idea of reconstructing the masjid and they approached Hanumangarhi’s chief priest Mahant Gyan Das seeking permission to reconstruct the masjid. The meeting ended with a surprising result.
Apart from giving permission to renovate the masjid, Mahant Gyan Das offered to undertake the reconstruction at the cost of Hanumangarhi temple.
“I asked our Muslim brothers to renovate and reconstruct the masjid on our expense and also issued no-objection certificate for Muslims to offer namaz as this is also a ‘Khuda ka ghar’,” Mahant Gyan Das told Times of India.
“I am also extending support to renovation of a mausoleum on the premises which is as old as the masjid,” added Gyan Das.