J&K: Mirwaiz put under house arrest, prevented from offering prayers for third consecutive Friday

Chief cleric of Jamia Masjid and Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was barred from leaving his home at Nigeen in the afternoon to deliver the sermon at the grand mosque in old city Nawhatta

Chief cleric of Jamia Masjid and Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was yet again put under house detention for the third consecutive Friday by the authorities preventing him to lead prayers at the grand mosque, the cleric said.

There was no word from the authorities on chief cleric of Jamia Masjid and Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s allegation. (HT File)

Mirwaiz was barred from leaving his home at Nigeen in the afternoon to deliver the sermon at the grand mosque in old city Nawhatta. There was no word from the authorities on his allegation.

“Again prevented from going to Jama masjid for third consecutive Friday. Despite the bone chilling cold, thousands of faithful elderly women, physically challenged, children and people from all over the valley gathered with a lot of affection and devotion to listen to the word of God at the grand mosque. What hurt and disappointment it brings to them all when those in power assert brute force and detain me, totally impervious and heartless to the grief they cause to them, to me and to the Muslims of the Valley, “ Mirwaiz said in a statement.

The last Friday sermon, which Mirwaiz delivered at Jamua Masjid, was on November 29 when he had raised the issue of Sambhal firing in Uttar Pradesh.

“ Five Muslim youth were killed in police firing during the survey of the 500-year-old Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh. The survey was ordered by the court. The killing of these youth in discriminatory police action is very distressing and condemnable.

While this matter was still ongoing, another court in Rajasthan’s Ajmer ordered the survey of the state’s iconic Ajmer Sharif Dargah of the revered Sufi saint Hazrat Moinuddin Chisti (Rah). Before that, the Gyanvapi Mosque is being surveyed under court orders. There seems to be a deliberate pattern where first doubts are raised, then the court orders surveys, and then majority claims have to be satisfied, “ he had said.

Since the sermon, he has been put under house arrest every Friday.

Meanwhile, the managing body of Jamia Masjid, Anjuman Auqaf denounced the continuous house detention of its head Mirwaiz Umar Farooq by the authorities for the third consecutive Friday. The Auqaf alleged that the administration imposes arbitrary and unjustified restrictions on the religious functioning of Mirwaiz.

“The LG Administration , through these arbitrary measures, continuously disregard and disrespect the religious sentiments and emotions of the people. Such measures also amount to interference in religious affairs of Muslims which is highly condemnable,” the Auqaf said.

Mirwaiz has been leading the prayers and delivering Friday sermons at Jamia Masjid as part of the Mirwaiz’s family tradition. He was released after four years of house detention on September 22, 2023 and since then he has been mostly leading the prayers at the mosque barring certain occasions when the authorities curb his movement.