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Layton, R.; Thomas, P. (2003). "Introduction". In Layton, R.; Stone, P.; Thomas, J. (eds.). Destruction and Conservation of Cultural Property. Routledge. pp. 1–21. ISBN978-1-134-60497-5.
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What qualifiers should be used in the second sentence of the lead paragraph (which discusses the temple's relation to Ram Janmabhoomi)?
one or both options can be selected:
A. Many Hindus believe/according to Hindu beliefs, etc.
B. "the mythical birthplace of Rama" or alternatives, such as reputed, alleged, supposed etc.
A and B I definitely think there is a need to use qualifiers regarding this topic due to the fact this is religious belief regarding a figure largely regarded to be mythological by most scholars. I think "mythical" is perhaps not the best word, but I would support using some kind of qualifier like supposed or reputed before indicate that this is belief and not some kind of expert consensus, but I would oppose "hypothetical" as this makes it sounds like some sort of rational hypothesis grounded in historical fact rather than a religious belief. Hemiauchenia (talk) 18:33, 5 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
A, since the belief is clearly attributed to Hindus by one of the two sources cited for the sentence (the other simply referring to the location as Rama's birthplace). Perception312 (talk) 20:48, 7 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
A Ayodhya being Rama's birthplace is Hindu belief. Attribution of the belief to Hindus is important in the sentence, as it may not be a belief outside Hinduism or Indians in general. Merely saying it is "hypothetical" does not explicitly restrict the hypothesis to Hindu belief.--RedtigerxyzTalk04:08, 10 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
A this being Rama's birthplace is Hindu belief per Redtigerxyz. Like Hemiauchenia, I think that "hypothetical" is wrong and unhelpful, not only does it fail to put the belief into its Hindu context, it also makes it sounds like some sort of rational hypothesis grounded in historical fact. Pincrete (talk) 17:57, 10 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
A because this argument is solely based on beliefs of Hindus since many centuries. The same was attested by neutral visitors to Ayodhya during medieval ages. There were two more important temples to Hindus in Ayodhya, namely, Swargadwar (Gateway to heaven) and Treta-ka-Thakur (Lord of [Treta yuga]). Those were also converted to mosques. The point is that the location of Janmasthan, Swargadwar and Treta-ka-Thakur are held with significance by Hindus as per their belief system. Therefore, it is better to avoid terms like hypothetical/mythical as this is an article on Ram mandir at Ayodhya to commemorate his birth at his Janmasthan and NOT on historicity of Rama. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Bsskchaitanya (talk • contribs)
A and B in a sense. The exact wording right now is "Many Hindus believe that it is located at the site of Ram Janmabhoomi, the mythical birthplace of Rama, a principal deity of Hinduism.", and this appears to be correct and appropriate. This is a religious-faith belief, it is not shared by all Hindus, Ram Janmabhoomi is mythical, and the identification of it with Ram Mandi is hypothetical, but that is already indicated by the entire sentence construction. If "Many Hindus" were removed (and it is not weasel wording but a description of a fact that it's a wide but not universal Hindu belief), then it might need to be made clearer that it's a hypothetical identification, but that just leads us back to weasel: whose hypothesis? The fix to the borderline-weasel problem would be to more narrowly identify the "many Hindus" as to some particular sect(s) or whatever. Someone with more subject-matter knowledge would have to figure out how to do that. — SMcCandlish☏¢ 😼 13:30, 21 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Option - A According to Wikipedia's policy WP:RNPOV, it recommends utilizing religion's sacred texts as primary sources and relying on modern archaeological, historical, and scientific works as secondary and tertiary sources. In the context of the belief in Hindu sacred texts (Ramayana etc.) asserting that Ram was born at a particular location and the contemporary archaeological survey conducted by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) suggesting the existence of the Ram Mandir in medieval times, it is advisable to adhere to Option A. - SpunkyGeek (talk)
Both, per SMcCandlish above. The belief is a Hindu belief, it's not universal, and it's about a figure/deity from mythology, not history. All those qualifiers are non-controversially accepted by scholars; omitting any of them would be a violation of WP:NPOV. Vanamonde93 (talk) 00:32, 28 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]