VARANASI: Several Muslim women here on Saturday offered prayers to Lord Ram on the occasion of Ramnavmi and claimed that he was their imam and Ayodhya was their place of pilgrimage.

“Ayodhya hai hamari jiyaratgah ka naam, rahte hain jahan Imam-e-Hind Shri Ram (Ayodhya is the name of our pilgrimage, where our Imam Shri Ram lives),” they recited while praising Lord Ram during Ramnavmi celebrations. The women, associated with the Vishal Bharat Sansthan (VBS), have been celebrating Ramnavmi for years to give a strong message of communal harmony.

Taking the ‘thaal’ of aarti, these women sang in praise of Lord Ram at Varunanagaram Colony, Hukulganj. They also wrote ‘Ram naam’ in Urdu on pieces of paper and deposited in ‘Rurdu Ram Naam Bank’.

Nazneen Ansari, who has scripted ‘Shri Ram Aarti’ and ‘Shri Ram Prarthana’, said: “Lord Ram is the ancestor of all of us. Everyone should take part in his aarti, breaking the barriers of caste, creed and faith.”

Being a Muslim, Nazneen has no hesitation singing in praise of Hindu deity and she believes that the name of Rama is enough to end all adversities. “That’s why a bank of ‘Ram naam’ in Urdu has also been created by these women at the VBS. Anyone can deposit Ram naam scripted paper in this bank,” VBS founder Rajiv Srivastava said.

“Ram humare purvaj hain aur duniya ke liye adarsh hain. Humein is baat ka fakhr hai ki hum Ram ki santan hain. Ram nam hi nafrat mita sakta hai (Ram is our ancestor and ideal for the world. We are proud of it. It is the only name which can eliminate hatred),” said Nazneen, who has also translated Hanuman Chalisa into Urdu.

She is working on the translation of Ramcharitmanas after scripting ‘Durga Chalisa’ in Urdu.

Nazneen also presented a ‘Ram-naami dupatta’ to former central information commissioner O P Kejriwal, who was present on the occasion. Other members like Najma Parveen, Mohammed Azharuddin, Razia Begum, Shams-un-Nisa, Hajra Begum and Bilqis Begum also took part in Ramnavmi celebrations.

They believe that the message from Kashi will be instrumental in bringing peace and communal harmony in other parts of the country and advocate for construction of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. Nazneen and her fellow members had also sent a petition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging construction of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.

They believe that Ayodhya belongs to Lord Ram and if Muslims want respect from Hindus, they should come forward to build the temple at his birthplace.

