After multiple delays and design alterations, the construction for the proposed mosque in Dhannipur village, 25 km away from Ayodhya, could likely begin in May 2024, as per officials.
An official of the Mosque Development Committee said, ”The final design of the mosque is likely to be with us in the next couple of months after which the construction work will start.” According to the Trust official, frequent changes in design are one of the main reasons for the delay in Mosque construction.
According to the chairman of the Committee and a Mumbai-based BJP leader, Haji Arafat Shaikh, the old design of the mosque has been discarded and replaced by a building in a more traditional style. Shaikh said, “The old designs were of an egg-shaped structure and were not liked by the community.”
Zufar Farooqui is the Chief Trustee of the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) which is overseeing the construction of the mosque. Farooqui said, “Construction of the Ayodhya mosque is getting delayed due to financial constraints and fresh formalities after drastic changes were made to the mosque design.”
Farooqui stated that the mosque will be constructed in Ayodhya’s Dhannipur village, expanding to over 40,000 sq. feet compared to the initially proposed 15,000 sq. feet. The revised design is anticipated to be completed by February, after which it will undergo administrative approval. Certain members of the IICF construction committee had recommended alterations to the original design.
He said, “The initial design of the mosque was based on those traditionally built in India. It was rejected, and so a new design is being prepared.”
Speaking with India Today, IICF secretary Athar Husain Siddiqui said that a construction committee had been set up and funds were being mobilised. He noted that there will be changes in the design and the construction will be started after getting no-objection certificates.
Meanwhile, according to reports, Mumbai will send the first brick for the Ayodhya mosque’s construction in February 2024. A descendant of Sufi saint Sarkar Peer Adil, whose tomb is in Bijapur, Karnataka, is set to bring the first bricks from Mumbai for the mosque’s foundation.
Trust officials clarify that currently there are no plans to invite the Imam from Mecca
For several days, there were media reports noting that one of the officials associated with the Mosque Development Committee had said that an Imam from the sacred Masjid-e-Haram in Mecca would lead the first prayers in the Ayodhya Mosque once it was completed. The official also added that the mosque was likely to be completed in 5 to 6 years.
However, the Trust officials have clarified that as of now there is no plan to invite the Mecca Imam to lead the first prayer at the Mosque.
Moreover, Siddiqui stressed that the timeline for the completion of the mosque will depend on funds. He also denied reports that plans had been formalised to get Imam-e-Kaaba Sheikh Saleh bin Humaid to inaugurate it.
New design for the ‘Biggest Mosque in India’ could entail Five Minarets, Mosque will house the Largest Quran in the world
According to the Committee Chairman, Haji Arafat Shaikh the new mosque in Ayodhya will be the “biggest” in India and it will house the biggest Quran in the world measuring 21 feet in height and 36 feet in width, as reported by TOI.
In contrast to conventional mosque layouts with two or four minarets, the Ayodhya mosque will reportedly have five minarets, symbolising the five pillars of Islam.
“The mosque will have five minarets symbolising five pillars of Islam namely kalima, namaz, roza, Haj, and zakat,” Shaikh was quoted by TOI as saying.
In addition to the mosque, the compound will reportedly also include a cancer hospital, educational institutions, a museum, a library, and a fully vegetarian kitchen that will provide complimentary meals to visitors.
Major timeline and updates so far
Notably, in its November 2019 Ram Janmabhoomi verdict, the Supreme Court ordered the Union government to grant 5 acres of land at an alternate site at a prominent location in Ayodhya to the Sunni Waqf Board to build a new Masjid. In line with the Court’s order, the Uttar Pradesh government allocated five acres of land to the Sunni Waqf Board in Dhannipur, on the outskirts of Ayodhya.
Subsequently, the waqf board formed the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) as a trust. The IICF chose S.M. Akhtar, a distinguished architect and the founder and dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Ekistics at Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi, to conceptualise the mosque’s design.
After making several changes in the plans and designs, in October 2023 the Chairman of the foundation Zufar Ahmed Farooqui while attending a function in Mumbai announced that the mosque would be named Masjid Muhammad Bin Abdullah, named after the prophet. Now, the trust officials have hinted that the construction of the proposed Mosque could finally start in May 2024.
