300-year-old mosque to be rebuilt on Hindu temple land

The land was donated to Hanumangarhi temple by Nawab Shujauddaulah in 1765

Following the passage of nearly 24 years since the razing of the Babri Masjid in India's Ayodhya, a 300-year-old dilapidated mosque will be rebuilt on land belonging to a Hindu temple trust in the city.



Announcing its decision, the trust has also agreed to bear the cost of reconstruction, according to The Times of India. Muslims in the area have already been welcomed to offer prayers at the premises. 

Nawab Shujauddaulah had donated the land to Hanumangarhi temple of Ayodhya in 1765 on the condition that prayers would continue to be offered at the site. The mosque fell into disrepair over time leading the Ayodhya Municipal Board to classify it as "hazardous". The dilapidated state of the mosque compelled a group of local Muslims to approach Hanumangarhi chief priest Mahant Gyan Das for permission to revamp the building.



"I asked our Muslim brothers to renovate and reconstruct the masjid on our expense and also issued no-objection certificate (NOC) for Muslims to offer namaz as this is also a Khuda ka ghar. I am also extending support to the renovation of a mausoleum on the premises which is as old as the masjid," Das said.

This article originally appeared on The Times of India.