Ayodhya mosque to be ‘better than Taj’

• The Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF), overseeing Ayodhya mosque construction, plans a revamped funding strategy inspired by the success of the Ram Temple project.

Key Highlights

Initial Plan and Challenges

• It aims to build one of India's largest mosques, surpassing the Taj Mahal, with the world's biggest Quran.
• The mosque will have five minars, a zero-carbon-footprint design, and a water-and-light show synchronized with prayers.
• Plans include a giant fish aquarium and retention of the hospital and community kitchen.
• Construction is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2024, post-Ramzan.
• A symbolic brick with Quranic verses will travel to Saudi Arabia and prominent dargahs before being laid at the site.

Historical Context:

• The mosque, allotted a five-acre plot in Dhannipur, Ayodhya, in 2020, emerged in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's approval for the Ram Temple's construction, replacing the demolished Babri Masjid.

Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid dispute

• It is about a plot measuring 2.77 acres in Ayodhya that houses the Babri mosque and Ram Janmabhoomi.
• This particular piece of land is considered sacred among Hindus as it is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ram.
• Muslims argue that the land houses Babri mosque, where they had offered prayers for years before the dispute erupted.
• The controversy is over whether the Babri mosque was built on top of a Ram temple after demolishing or modifying it in the 16th century.
• Muslims, on the other hand, say the mosque was built by Mir Baqi in 1528 and that Hindus took control over it in 1949, when some people placed idols of Lord Ram inside the mosque

Prelims Takeaway

• Babri mosque
• Taj mahal