Futuristic design out, Ayodhya mosque to have a traditional look

The government gave five acres for construction of the mosque following the Supreme Court’s directions in its November 2019 ruling on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case. The SC had granted the disputed Ayodhya site for the construction of Ram Temple; the mosque is coming up around 25 km from the Ram Mandir site.

Zufar Ahmad Faruqi, Chief Trustee of the trust, told The Indian Express that after receiving feedback over almost five years from various stakeholders, they realised that the community was not confident about the mosque’s modern structure.

“Through feedback, we realised that for a religious monument, people found the earlier design to be too modern. It was found to be the main issue behind the hesitance of the community to donate. Thus, in 2023, we decided to change the design. We hired a renowned architect from Pune, Imran Shaikh, who is preparing the new layout, architectural and structural design of the mosque, which will be ready soon,” said Faruqi.

The Trust had earlier shared the artist’s impression of the proposed mosque, with a skylit glass dome structure, calling it a futuristic and contemporary design. The new design, however, is more traditional — with five “minars” and traditional dome structures.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Faruqi, who is also the Chairman of UP Sunni Waqf Board, said they are also contemplating on building an educational institution, along with the original project, and are considering purchasing additional land in the surrounding area.

Following reports about the earlier design being rejected by the ADA, Faruqi said they got to know about it through the media but added that they were not pursuing the old maps because they have changed the maps for fresh approval.

Asked about the future line of action, Faruqi said, “The new structural design and the map is likely to be ready within the next three months. We would place the new design for approval before the ADA.”

Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior ADA official said, “We have an online system for approval for maps, and the applicant has to submit it with all required documents… Failure to upload the required documents would mean the application would be rejected automatically after a certain time, and this is what happened in this case. The application was rejected automatically last year. No one from the trust contacted us, but they can always reapply with a fresh application.”

Faruqi said based on feedback from the community, showing interest to donate, they are also considering establishing an educational institute. “The new design is working as people are satisfied with the traditional structure,” he said, adding, “But a lot of work is required. We are confident that once the layout and the structural design is ready, it will push the project further.”

Following the apex court order, the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, in May 2020, constituted the IICF to oversee the construction of the mosque and other structures. In December 2023, the IICF had said it hoped to start construction work in May next year. A “construction committee” had also been formed in Mumbai to oversee collection of funds for the project.

The mosque, proposed to be called as a Muhammed Bin Abdullah Masjid, is proposed to also have a 200-bed hospital, community kitchen, Indo-Islamic cultural research centre.

Earlier, in response to an RTI plea by a local journalist, the Ayodhya Development Authority had reportedly informed that the application seeking approval by the mosque was rejected because of “lack of clearance from the departments concerned.

ADA officials had later informed that they have an online application filing system for approval of maps and if all the documents are not submitted on time, the application is rejected. They said the applicant can apply again.

However, officials at the Trust told The Indian Express that they did not pursue the application for approval with ADA as they had to get the new layout and structural design approved, which they would do now.

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