Bhajan singing in Kashmir Schools: MMU objects says, Protection of Islamic identity our fundamental responsibility

MMU is a representative body of some 30 Islamic religious and educational organisations in Kashmir headed by the chief cleric of Jamia Masjid and Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq

Srinagar: After a viral video of south Kashmir’s Kulgam came to the fore wherein kids were seen singing a bhajan in a school, a prominent amalgam of religious organisations in Kashmir Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU) on Tuesday objected to it alleging that it was aimed at speeding up ‘the so-called integration of younger generation with the Hindutva idea of India’.

Representational image.

MMU, a representative body of some 30 Islamic religious and educational organisations in Kashmir headed by the chief cleric of Jamia Masjid and Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, said that the enforcement of singing Hindu hymns in schools in Kashmir is a cause of concern and an attempt to “undermine our religious identity.”

The body said that protection of “our religion and Islamic identity is, as Muslims, our fundamental religious responsibility”.

“Deliberate interference in this by the government, education department or any other agency will neither be accepted nor tolerated,” it said in a statement.

“It is becoming clear that there seems to be a deliberate plan to push our young generation through state-run educational institutions towards apostasy, to wean them away from Islamic beliefs and identity, to speed their so-called ‘integration’, with the Hindutva idea of India. This is a very serious matter,” the MMU said.

National Conference spokesman Imran Nabi Dar also shared a part of the video questioning whether “our educational institutions have been turned into a political tool?

The MMU also said that efforts to ‘browbeat Muslim Ulemas and scholars and weaken their influence’ in J&K were being carried out as the recent spate of arrests of respected scholars and religious heads and invoking of the public safety act (PSA).

Meanwhile, a threat letter has appeared on social media platforms apparently by militants against the video and arrest of religious scholars prompting the authorities to increase security, particularly in south Kashmir.