AYODHYA: After an ‘aarti’ to worship the river and the subsequent Saryu Mahotsava celebration amid chanting of prayers in
Sanskrit last month, the banks of Saryu will become a place for Muslims to offer namaz.
Muslim clerics will gather in large numbers in
Ayodhya to perform ‘wazu’ (ablutions) from the waters of the holy river before offering namaz. They will also perform ‘talawat-e-Quran’ (recitation of verses of Quran) at the Ram Ki Paidi ghat, which sees a large number of Hindu devotees.
The event, which will take place on Thursday afternoon, will be organised by RSS and its wing Muslim Rashtriya Manch. It is being supported by the government of Uttar Pradesh. The clerics will also visit mausoleums of Sufi saints. Ayodhya has about 200 such dargahs.
Senior leader of Muslim Rashtriya Manch and professor of Islamic studies in Lucknow University
Shabana Azmi said, “Ayodhya has been defamed by the notion that Muslims are not allowed to practise their religious rights here. The other misconception is that RSS is against Muslims. The event is an effort to give messages to the world that Ayodhya is a place for both Hindus and Muslims, that RSS is a true friend of the Muslims and that Hindus and Muslims share the same
DNA. “Cabinet minister Laxmi Narain and RSS national leader Murari Das will be chief guests on this occasion along with local BJP and RSS leaders,” she said.
“We are expecting about 1,500 Muslim clerics and other devotees on the occasion,” she added. Local convenor of Muslim Rashtriya Manch Anil Singh said that after offering namaz and talawat, clerics will pray for peace and communal harmony in the country.
“They will pray that communal harmony and peace among Hindus and Muslims is not affected amid the ongoing dispute of Ram Janmabhoomi and Babri Masjid in Ayodhya,” he said.
In June, a grand Saryu Mahotsava was organised on the river’s banks
