The Rashtriya Muslim Manch, which is affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, will host a namaaz session along with Quran recitation on the banks of the Saryu river in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya on July 12, News18 reported. The news report said the event has the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government.

Around 1,500 Muslim clerics are expected to participate in the event along with many Hindu devotees. The clerics will also visit around 200 mausoleums of Sufi saints in Ayodhya. The clerics will first perform ‘wazu’ (ablution) and then offer namaaz, following which verses from the Quran will be recited around 5 lakh times at Ram Ki Paidi Ghat on the banks of the river.

“Ayodhya has been defamed by the notion that Muslims are not allowed to practise their religious rights here,” said senior leader of the Muslim Rashtriya Manch and professor of Islamic Studies at Lucknow University Shabhana Azmi. “The other misconception is that the RSS is against Muslims. The event is an effort to give a message to the world that Ayodhya is a place for both Hindus and Muslims. The RSS is a true friend of the Muslims. Both Hindus and Muslims share the same DNA,” she said, according to The Times of India.

The convenor of the Rashtriya Muslim Manch, Mahirdhwaj, told News18 that the clerics will be praying for communal harmony and peace among Hindus and Muslims “in spite of the ongoing dispute of Ram Janmabhoomi and Babri Masjid”.

Cabinet minister Laxmi Narain and RSS leader Murari Das will be the chief guests at the event, the reports said.