Days after a 5-acre land was allotted to the Sunni Waqf Board at Dhannipur village in Ayodhya to build a mosque in lieu of the demolished Babri Masjid, the dean of Jamia Millia Islamia's Architecture Department, Professor S M Akhtar has been selected to design the mosque and the surrounding complex.
An Indian Express Report quoted the Jamia PRO Ahmed Azeem as saying, "Professor Akhtar will design the mosque in Ayodhya, to be constructed by the Sunni Waqf Board on alternative land given by the (Uttar Pradesh) government on SC's order.
Suggesting that there would be a hospital within the complex, Akhtar was quoted by the report as saying, "I will design the whole complex; the masjid will be a part of it. It has not yet been decided what all will be in the complex, but hopefully there will be a hospital. The basic concept is to serve humanity and the society. For that, we can construct anything."
Akhtar was reportedly informed about his selection for the task by the secretary of the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) – the trust formed by the Sunni Waqf Board for the construction.
However, he added that the process will take a long time, and that "the conception is to have a centre which can serve the society, with human values, Indian ethos and Islamic spirit".
