Clarion India
SRINAGAR — After five months, congregational Friday prayers were again offered in the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar as places of worship were shut by the authorities to check the spread of Covid-19.
The mosque in Nowhatta area, where Mirwaiz Umer Farooq delivers his weekly sermon, was closed in the middle of March.
Religious places and places of worship were re-opened last week, but this was the first congregational Friday prayers in Jamia Masjid.
Devotees entered the mosque following all the SOPs pertaining to prevention of Covid spread and during prayers also, the mandatory distance was maintained between the devotees.
The Jamia Masjid wore a festive look as people thanked Allah for allowing them to enter the mosque once again after a gap of five months.
In the past, before the pandemic fear, Jamia Masjid saw closures several times and devotees were not allowed to offer Friday prayers.
Authorities have banned prayers at the mosque for extended periods during unrest in 2008, 2010 and 2016. Official data show the mosque was closed at least 250 days in those three years combined.
The centuries-old Jamia Masjid, made of brick and wood, is one of the oldest in this city, and witnesses thousands of people gather there for prayers when it is open.
