Muslim devotee of Lord Ram sets out on 800-km journey to attend bhoomi pujan in Ayodhya

There would be four smaller temples surrounding the main structure. The temple complex will have a prayer hall, lecture hall, educational facility, saints’ residence, hostel and museum.

A Muslim man has set out on an 800 km-long journey to attend the Ram temple’s ‘bhoomi pujan’ in Ayodhya next month. The man, who identifies himself as Mohammad Faiz Khan, claims to be a devotee of Lord Ram.

He hails from the purported birthplace of Kaushalya, Lord Ram’s mother. He started travelling from Chhattisgarh’s Chandkhuri village and hopes to reach the “Ram Janmabhoomi”, where the temple will be erected, by August 5. Khan has reached Madhya Pradesh so far.

Khan said: “I am Muslim by birth, but I am a devotee of Lord Ram. If we find out about our ancestors, they were Hindus. Their names might be Ramlal or Shyamlal. We all have Hindu origin, whether we go to church or mosque.”

Khan believes Lord Ram is the "main ancestor" and was inspired by the words of Pakistan’s national poet Allama Iqbal, who had said a person with “perfect sight” could feel that Ram is the lord of India.

Commenting on communal tension, he said: “Some people in Pakistan have created fake IDs with Hindu and Muslim names. They constantly abuse each other to prove that the religious communities are at loggerheads in India.”

Meanwhile, another Muslim man named Azam Khan, who is the president of ‘Sri Ram Mandir Nirman Muslim Kar Sewak Manch’, has said he will drown himself in the Saryu River if he is not invited to the grand ceremony. He also claims to be a devotee of Lord Ram.

Notably, the Ram Temple is being built at a site where the Babri Masjid — a monument of historical significance — was demolished by Hindu extremists on December 6, 1992. The incident had led to decades of controversy, land disputes and communal tension.