A day after Kashmir’s chief cleric and Hurriyat moderate Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was put under house arrest, Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulama (MMU) in Jammu and Kashmir said that such measure belies the claims of normalcy by the authorities.
MMU- a conglomerate of religious bodies in Kashmir representing different schools of thought- termed the frequent house arrest of Mirwaiz as a grave violation of his religious freedom.
On Friday, Mirwaiz Umar, who was expected to deliver a sermon at Srinagar’s historic Jamia mosque, was not allowed to leave his residence.
“It is a grave violation of the Mirwaiz’s religious freedom and direct interference in the religious affairs of the Muslims of valley,” MMU said in a statement. “ It is a serious concern for the religious organisation and the people of the state .”
The MMU said that the scheduled sermon of the Mirwaiz on the auspicious occasion of Meraj-ul-Nabi (SAW) in Jamia Masjid Srinagar was also not allowed and he was detained at his residence.
“It is beyond our comprehension as to why the government is repeatedly detaining Mirwaiz at his home on Fridays and important religious occasions. Being released from detention after more than four years, Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir was allowed to offer Friday prayers at the Jama Masjid Srinagar only on three Fridays. This unjust gesture seriously hurts the sentiments of the people of Kashmir associated with the Mirwaiz and Jama Masjid,” the statement said.
“Such disregard of the administration towards Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who is the top-most religious leader of Kashmir, and lakhs of his followers is extremely regrettable, ” the MMU said. Claims of ‘normalcy ‘ by the authorities are also completely belied by this measure,” it added .
MMU urged the government to stop its “authoritarian” approach and allow the Mirwaiz to carry forward his mission of religious propagation , unhindered.
Last month Mirwaiz was allowed to travel to New Delhi, for the first time since he was placed under house arrest in August 2019 when Article 370 was abrogated. Mirwaiz had termed his visit to Delhi as “purely private”.
