The caretakers of the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar have accused the Lieutenant Governor’s administration of closing the mosque, preventing Friday prayers, and placing the Kashmir Valley’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq — also chairman of the Hurriyat — under house arrest again. The move comes amid fears that protests against Palestinian deaths in the ongoing conflict would erupt after the prayers.
A spokesman of the Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid, the caretaker body for the mosque, said that police officials had closed the gates of the mosque and conveyed that, “Friday prayers will not be allowed today”.
“The Mirwaiz, who was finally allowed to offer Friday prayers and deliver Friday sermon, has yet again been put under house arrest early this morning today,” the spokesman said. Mirwaiz Farooq, 50, was set free to lead prayers and deliver sermons at the mosque on September 22 this year for the first time since Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional position was ended in 2019.
‘Solidarity with Palestinians’
Sources said the move to disallow prayers this week was made amid fears of spontaneous protests over Palestinian deaths in the Israel-Palestine war over the past week.
In a statement, Mirwaiz Farooq said that the people of Kashmir stand “united in unwavering solidarity with the people of Palestine, sharing a deep hope for the resolution of the conflict and an end to the profound human suffering it has caused”.
He added: “Palestinians have been gravely wronged. Young, women and even children are killed in their homes. Even the holy site of Masjid Al Aqsa is desecrated, causing pain and anger among Muslims. Unless the conflict is addressed by the international community, delivering justice to Palestinians, its tragic offshoots will keep cropping up.”
‘Project to dehumanise Muslims’
Scores of mosques across the Valley delivered Friday sermons about the ongoing war and the deaths of civilians, including children, condemning the “aggression of Israel”.
The Jamiat Ul Ulama Isna Asharia organised a protest rally against Israel in Ladakh’s Kargil after Friday prayers. The J&K Anjuman-e-Sharie Shian also organised a march to express solidarity with the people of Palestine in central Kashmir’s Budgam.
“We have gathered as we feel the pain of oppressed Palestinians. Disinformation is being spread against oppressed Palestinians being portrayed as terrorists, as part of the project to dehumanise Muslims,” Anjuman-Sharie Shian leader Aga Syed Muntazir Mehdi said. He urged Iran and Saudi Arabia to push the world community, including the United Nations, towards a resolution of the Palestine question.
