Mohammed Faiz Khan, a Muslim man from Chhattisgarh has decided to walk 800 kilometres to reach Ayodhya to attend the Ram Mandir Bhumi Poojan on August 5th. He belongs to Chandkhuri, the village that is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ram’s mother Kaushalya. Though a Muslim, he identifies himself as a devotee of Lord Ram.
ANI reported that he has already reached Madhya Pradesh’s Anupur district in his journey to come to Ayodhya. He is taking a handful of soil from Chandkhuri for the Bhoomi Poojan ceremony.
He walks for 60 kms a day carrying some provisions for his journey.
“I am a Muslim from my name and religion 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. Allama Iqbal too upheld Ram as an icon of India, by calling him Imam-e-Hind. Mahatma Gandhi too used the term Ram Rajya to describe an ideal state” he was quoted as saying by ANI. He added that his main ancestor was Lord Ram.
Mohammed is an RSS Swayamsevak and is actively involved with the Muslim Rashtriya Manch, the Muslim wing of the RSS. He studied at Shishu Mandir, the school patronized by the RSS. He had even won the first prize in an elocution competition on Lord Ram when he in his 9th standard.
Speaking on the demolition of the Babri Masjid he said that Babur was an invader who had no relation with India and that the existence of the temple below the Babri Masjid has been proved. He said that it was the symbol of invasion that was felled. He also added that those opposing the construction of the temple were trouble makers and were acting at the behest of foreign forces. He said that there are more mosques in Indian than in Saudi Arabia and urged to fellow Muslim brethren to come forward and help Hindus build the temples that were razed down (Ayodhya, Kashi, Mathura).
Earlier he had gone on a padayatra from Leh to Kanyakumari and Vaishnodevi to raise awareness about doing service to the cows (Go Seva).
The Ram Mandir’s Bhoomi Poojan in Ayodhya is scheduled to happen on August 5th, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to lay the foundation stone. Over 150 attendees have been invited for this event.