As Ayodhya readies for bhoomi pujan of Ram Temple, Muslims devotees prepare to celebrate

New Delhi, July 27: As Ayodhya gets ready for the 'bhoomi pujan' of the proposed Ram temple, some Muslim devotees of Lord Ram are gearing up to celebrate the historic ceremony.

The August 5 ceremony will mark the beginning of the temple construction, after a decades-long title suit over the site was settled by the Supreme Court in November last year.

Jamshed Khan, a resident of Faizabad district, said he will celebrate the beginning of the temple construction with his Hindu brothers.

"We have converted to Islam and embraced its prayer system, but that doesn't change our ancestors. We believe that Lord Ram is our ancestor," he said.

Wasi Haider, also a native of Faizabad, echoed similar sentiments.

"We believe in the fundamentals of Islam and we practice Islam, but we also believe that Lord Ram was our ancestor. It will be great that we will witness the construction of the Ram temple," he said.

Haji Saeed said Indian Muslims consider Lord Ram as 'Imam-e-Hind'.

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Rashid Ansari said he hopes he gets a chance to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the Ram Janmabhoomi site.

"If due to security and other reasons I don't get a chance to go there, I will celebrate the beginning of the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya," he said.

Awadh province incharge of Muslim Rashtriya Manch Anil Singh said some Muslim devotees of Lord Ram are coming to Ayodhya from other states to join the celebrations in the holy town.

"One of the devotees is coming to Ayodhya with bricks from his native state Chhattisgarh for the construction of the temple," he said.

According to members of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Ayodhya for the ceremony to begin the construction of the Ram temple.

Anil Mishra, a member of the trust, told PTI on Sunday that veteran BJP leaders L K Advani, M M Joshi and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat are among those being invited to the 'bhoomi pujan' ceremony which will be telecast live by Doordarshan.

Besides, there is a plan to invite spiritual leaders from all faiths, he had said.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing restrictions, there will be a limited gathering of up to 200 people at the event, they said according to Mishra.