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After 30 weeks, Jamia Masjid thrown open for public
In view of the sustained public demand for its reopening and the ebbing infections, the administration decided to allow Friday prayers. Jamia Masjid had been closed last April in wake of the raging pandemic
Thousands of devotees turned up to offer Friday prayers at the historical Jamia Masjid in Srinagar as it opened for public after a gap of 30 weeks. It had been closed last April in wake of the raging pandemic.
In view of the sustained public demand for its reopening and the ebbing infections, the administration decided to allow Friday prayers.
On the occasion, the head priest of the mosque urged the Jammu and Kashmir government to release Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Molvi Umar Farooq from house arrest. Farooq is also the chief cleric of Jamia Masjid.
Head Imam Moulana Ahmad Syed Naqshbandi, who delivered the Friday sermon, said the repeated ban on Friday prayers at the grand mosque, is a cause of anxiety and restlessness among people and violation of their fundamental human right to practice religion.
He further said, “By keeping Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir Moulvi Umar Farooq under continued house arrest for the last two-and-a-half years, this pulpit has been rendered silent, causing hurt and sorrow to people. He should be released immediately.”
Mehraj ud din, a resident of Jamia Masjid, said, “For us it’s a big day. The mosque has been again opened for prayers. We pray to almighty this place should always remain open.”
Jamia Masjid is one of the biggest mosques in Kashmir and has been central to many important developments throughout the history of the Valley. Hurriyat leader and chief priest of the mosque, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq used to deliver the weekly sermons here but he has been under house arrest since August 5, 2019 when special status of J&K was revoked.
Earlier in December, the mayor of Srinagar municipal corporation, Junaid Azim Mattu had written to lieutenant governor terming it “unacceptable to administratively normalise the locking up of the Jamia Masjid”.
The mosque has remained closed for extended periods of time since August 2019 owing to the restrictions after the region was bifurcated into two union territories followed by Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, the mosque was closed on April 28, owing to the surge in Covid-19 cases during second wave and imposition of Section 144 CrPC. The mosque had closed for five months after the pandemic started in March, 2020.
