Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the chairman of the Hurriyat Conference, was also reportedly put under house arrest
NEW DELHI – The grand mosque in the Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital of Srinagar was closed on the eve of Eid-Al-Azha for the seventh consecutive year following the abrogation of Article 370 when the state was bifurcated and demoted into two Union territories by the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP)-led Union government.
Authorities also barred congregational Eid prayers from taking place at the Eidgah grounds in Srinagar, without specifying any reason thereof in writing. And the chairman of the Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, was reportedly put under house arrest before the Eid prayers.
In a post on X, Mirwaiz, who is also the chief cleric of Kashmir, said the Jamia Masjid, the biggest mosque in Srinagar, was also locked by the authorities.
“In a Muslim-majority region, Muslims are deprived of their fundamental right to pray — even on their most important religious occasion celebrated across the world! What a shame on those who rule over us, and on those elected by the people who choose to remain silent as our rights are trampled over, again and again,” he said.
Security forces barricaded the entry to his house on Saturday morning without any official intimation, Mirwaiz was quoted by media reports as saying. “They didn’t allow me to come out to lead the Eid prayers. It is an attack on the basic religious right of the Muslims of Kashmir,” he said.
In a statement on Friday (June 6), Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid, the managing body of the historic mosque, said that the authorities didn’t give permission for organising the Eid prayers at the Eidgah ground where thousands of people from different parts of Kashmir used to gather to participate in the congregational prayers.
The managing body’s statement said that it “deeply regrets” the denial of permission for organising the prayer at the Eidgah ground which was planned “in keeping with the longstanding Islamic tradition and the collective religious sentiment of the people”.
The statement said that due to the refusal, the congregational prayers were to be organised at Jamia Masjid on Saturday where Mirwaiz would deliver a sermon “on the philosophy and spirit of Eid and Qurbani (sacrifice)”.
“Auqaf urges all worshippers to attend the Eid prayers at Jama Masjid in large numbers and partake in the message of unity, sacrifice, and submission to the will of Allah that Eid-Al-Adha embodies,” the statement said.
However, the 14th-century architectural marvel in Nowhatta locality of downtown Srinagar was closed on Saturday, with police and paramilitary troopers turning away the worshippers who tried to gather for the Eid prayers while Mirwaiz was put under house detention.
This is not the first time that the authorities have locked Kashmir’s largest mosque for worshippers on the eve of Eid without specifying any reason in writing.
