Lord Ram our 'Imam-e-Hind', temple will be symbol of brotherhood: Muslim devotees

We' are kar sevaks and consider Lord Ram as 'Imam-e-Hind',” Raja Raees, the president of Sunni Social Forum (an organisation working for the Muslims) told PTI on Wednesday.

Hailing Lord Ram as "Imam-e-Hind" (prelate of India), some Muslim devotees of Lord Ram watched the entire bhoomi pujan ceremony in Ayodhya on Wednesday live on their TV sets as they could not go there due to the coronavirus health protocols. Underlining the country's tradition of syncretic co-existence, they said once the coronavirus situation improves they would visit the temple site and offer their services in its construction.

"It is a moment of joy for us. We' are kar sevaks and consider Lord Ram as 'Imam-e-Hind',” Raja Raees, the president of Sunni Social Forum (an organisation working for the Muslims) told PTI on Wednesday. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the bhoomi pujan at Ayodhya Ram Janambhoomi site, Raees said, “We celebrated the occasion by beating drums and playing harmonium. Shri Ram is our Paigambar. There is a feeling of happiness among the Muslims in the country. Members of our organisation watched the event live on TV" Sunny Abbas, who lives in Lucknow, railed against those who identified the Ram temple movement as a Hindus-Muslim issue. "The bhoomi pujan is a tight slap on their faces. Most Muslims have agreed for the construction of a Ram temple respecting the sentiments of Hindus. Now the grand Ram temple will become a symbol of brotherhood," he told PTI over phone.

Zameer Raza, a resident of Bareilly, feels that the day has come after a lot of efforts. "In fact, I feel that it is a double Eid for us." Shanno Khan of Kanpur told PTI over phone, "Once the COVID-19 crisis is over, and the construction work of Ram temple in Ayodhya commences, I along with my family members and friends will go to participate in kar seva." The ceremony marked 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. The Supreme Court on November 9, 2019 backed the construction of a Ram temple by a government trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya, and ruled that an alternative five-acre plot must be found for a mosque in the Hindu holy town. Delivering a unanimous verdict on a case that has long polarised the country and frayed the secular tapestry of Indian society, a five-judge bench of the apex court headed by the then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had said the faith of Hindus that Lord Ram was born at the site was undisputed, and he is symbolically the owner of the land.

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