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Hazratbal imam seeks LG Manoj Sinha’s intervention for reinstatement
Kamal-ud-din Farooqui was disengaged by the waqf board from leading prayers after his video presiding over a public conversion of a Hindu man went viral.
The imam of Kashmir’s most revered shrine — Dargah Hazratbal— who was removed over a conversion row in April this year, has sought the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha’s intervention for his reinstatement.
Kamal-ud-din Farooqui, 72, was disengaged by the waqf board from leading the prayers after his video presiding over a public conversion of a Hindu man from Haryana to Islam went viral prompting an FIR for allegedly ‘causing disorder in society and hurting religious sentiments of people’. The waqf board alleged that due process was not followed and formed a three-member committee on April 8 to inquire into the matter and submit a report in seven days. Three months on, the board, led by BJP leader Darakshan Andrabi, has neither made its inquiry report public nor reinstated Farooqui.
Farooqui said his family has been performing the duties of Dargah’s imam for the past three centuries and now feels that the religious legacy of his forefathers will be lost if he is not reinstated. He took over as the imam in 2018 after his brother’s death.
“My family has been leading the prayers for the past 350 years. For the past 18 generations, this has been our duty. I did nothing wrong,” Farooqui said.
Despite repeated attempts, Darakshan Andrabi wasn’t available for comments; however, the head of the waqf’s three-member inquiry committee Syed Mohammad Hussain said that they have submitted the inquiry report. “I can’t reveal what was in the report as it is confidential but we talked to all the persons including Farooqui saab and even sought the police report,” he said.
Farooqui has been a prominent academician at Sheri Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology and retired as a professor. With a doctorate in plant breeding and genetics from the French University of Bordeaux, Farooqui used to deliver sermons at Dargah on important religious occasions.
The ‘alleged’ conversion took place on the last Friday of Ramzan on April 5 in the presence of thousands of people. The video showed Farooqui questioning the man if he was coerced or bribed to convert to which the man responded in negative. HT couldn’t independently verify the veracity of the video.
The police registered a case and named a local Inayat Muntazir, in whose house the man was working as a domestic help. The case was filed under sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race etc), 153 (giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 298 (uttering words with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings) and 188 (disobedience to order promulgated by a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code. Farooqui said he was not named in the FIR.
Hazratbal superintendent of police Hilal Khaliq Bhat said the investigation into the case was going on. “At this stage, police cannot share findings of the probe. We have talked to every person, including the imam. No arrests have been made so far,” he said.
Farooqui said that had he not recited the Kalima (Islamic proclamation) the people present there would have turned against me and alleged that the current leadership of waqf was unjustly targeting him.
“They expect me to be a puppet of the present waqf. She encourages sycophancy,” he alleged, adding, “I want LG to intervene and seek a report from the police on the case.”
