Ayodhya: Nearly 24 years after the Babri Masjid demolition, resulting in communal strife across India, a temple in Ayodhya has set a perfect example of communal harmony by offering to rebuild a 300-year-old battered mosque on its land and also invited Hanumangarhi temple to offer namaz in the premises.

The Aalamgiri Masjid, built in the 17th century with the consent of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb by one of his generals, came in the possession of the Hanumangarhi temple after Nawab Shujauddaulah donated the land to the temple in around 1765, on the condition that namaz would continue at the masjid.

However, the practice of offering namaz at the masjid gradually declined and the structure bereft of any maintenance works was recently declared as hazardous. A civic body also issued a notice barring entry into the structure.

A few local Muslims who approached the temple trust expressing their desire to get the masjid repaired were in for a pleasant surprise when the temple management not only allowed the local Muslims to get the masjid reconstructed, but also offered to bear the cost
“I asked our Muslim brothers to renovate and reconstruct the masjid on our expense and also issued no objection certificate for Muslims to offer namaz as this is also a `Khuda ka ghar’,” Hanumangarhi’s chief priest Mahant Gyan Das was quoted speaking to a news daily.