"It's indeed a shame that Ram Lala (as Lord Ram is known fondly) is kept under a makeshift tent in the place of his birth. He should get his rightful due and a grand temple should be built for his worship," says Mohammad Afzal, national convenor of the MRM.
The Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM), a prominent pan-India organisation of Muslims working for communal amity in the country, has declared that it wants construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya to begin without waiting for the Supreme Court verdict.
The body, known for its affiliation with the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), would soon begin talks with the Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) towards this end, and is confident of working out an out-of-court settlement. However, parties to the age-old dispute have their reservations about the chances of the rather radical idea.
"It's indeed a shame that Ram Lala (as Lord Ram is known fondly) is kept under a makeshift tent in the place of his birth. He should get his rightful due and a grand temple should be built for his worship," says Mohammad Afzal, national convenor of the MRM.
The issue was taken up at the MRM's national conclave at Nagpur earlier this week, and there was consensus on starting a campaign to facilitate the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya at the disputed spot by working out a mutually agreeable solution with the Muslim parties in the title dispute pending before the Supreme Court.
"Right-thinking Muslims do not want conflict with the Hindus. They want development, education and prosperity," says Afzal who is in Ayodhya to work out a consensus at the local level befoe beginning parleys with the BMAC.
However, his initiative has hit the predictable hurdles already. "This won't work," says BMAC convenor Zafaryab Jilani, virtually fuming at the very idea of giving away the disputed land in Ayodhya on a platter. "The matter is before the apex court, and all parties concerned would do well to wait for the judgment."
Muslim clerics hold a similar opinion. "People trying to work out such simplistic solutions should remember that this is a very emotive issue for Indian Muslims, and no one should play with such strong religious sentiments," says renowned Sunni cleric Kalid Rashid Firangi Mahali.
Prominent Shia Maulana, Kalbe Jawwad dismisses the MRM idea as a "gimmick" driven by political reasons just before the 2017 UP Assembly elections.
However, Afzal is not disheartened. "Muslims, especially the clerics, should understand that for any mosque, the land should either belong to a Muslim or to a waqf (Muslim trust). Muslims do not have ownership of the 'garbh griha' (sanctum sanctorum) in Ayodhya. So the idea of building a mosque there is against Islam itself," he asserts. "I only hope good sense will dawn on Muslims and they will see light of reason, the sooner the better" he adds.
MRM formed to bridge the gap
The MRM was formed in 2002 by "nationalist Muslims" to bridge the Hindu-Muslim chasm. With a presence in 25 states, it has 10,000 active workers and over 10 lakh followers. It is involved in volunteering work, and much of it's campaigning is on ideological grounds. Earlier this year, MRM campaigned to convince Muslim religious leaders to hoist the national flag from madrasas on Republic Day. MRM has also been felicitating Muslims in Uttar Pradesh who own and rear cows.
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