An image which shows a man wearing a skull cap and touching the idol of Lord Ram is being shared to claim that it shows a Muslim creating the sculptures for Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.
What are users saying?: Those sharing the photo have uploaded with a caption that said, "These Sanghis could not find a single sculptor among the 110 crore Hindus. And these people want to create a Hindu Rashtra."
An archive of the claim can be found here.
(Source: X/(formerly Twitter)/Screenshot)
(You can view archives of similar claims here, here, and here.)
What is the truth?: The picture dates back to 2019 and shows a man named Saddam Hussein cleaning idols kept at the Ram Mandir in Rajajinagar, Bengaluru, ahead of the Ramanavami festival.
According to reports, three people are involved in making Lord Ram's sculptures — Ganesh Bhatt, Arun Yogiraj, and Satya Narayan Pandey.
Where is the image from?: We performed a Google Lens search on the picture and it led us to a report published on The New Indian Express, which carried the same image.
The report identified the person as Saddam Hussein, a 27-year-old man, who is responsible for keeping the entire premises of Ram Mandir in Rajajinagar clean.
It said that ahead of Ramanavami festival, Hussein was seen cleaning the idols kept at the temple.
The reported further mentioned that he has studied only up to Class 2, does odd jobs, helps people with shifting houses, drives a cab, and works at a shop.
The report was published on 9 April 2019.
(Source: TNIE/Screenshot)
Other sources: Media agency ANI, too, published a report saying that Hussein has been taking care of the Ram temple for the past three years.
The report said that a large number of devotees appreciate and encourage Hussein's work.
The office-bearer in the temple committee, Venkatesh Babu, said that he gave Hussein the responsibility of cleaning the temple after getting elected.
We also came across a video uploaded on the official YouTube channel of The Print, which showed visuals of Hussein cleaning the temple and details about him.
About the people involved in making idols for Ayodhya: According to a report in NDTV, three idols of Ram Lala are being made for the upcoming grand opening of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The "best" sculpture will reportedly be placed in the sanctum sanctorum of garbhagriha.
The report said that the idols are being made by three sculptors — Ganesh Bhatt, Arun Yogiraj, and Satya Narayan Pandey.
As per a report published in India Today, two Muslim sculptors from West Bengals have crafted Lord Ram's idols for the grand opening of the temple. They were identified as one Mohammed Jamaluddin and his son Bittu.
The report also said that the duo are creating statues that will adorn the temple complex.
Conclusion: An old and unrelated photo is being shared to falsely claim that it shows a Muslim sculpture who is responsible for creating idols for Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.
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