Shab-e-Qadr prayers not allowed at Jamia Masjid; extremely regrettable, says Mirwaiz
“Conveyed to Auqaf by authorities, that on the highly revered night of Lailatul Qadr when Muslims around the world supplicate and seek Allah’s forgiveness throughout the holy and blessed night, the central Jama Masjid Srinagar will be closed to the people and no shab or prayers will be allowed there,” Mirwaiz said.
The authorities have denied permission to hold prayers at the grand mosque in Srinagar, Jamia Masjid, on the auspicious occasion of Shab-e-Qadr, the chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said on Thursday.
Mirwaiz took to X to express his anger over the development particularly owing to the holy month of Ramadan.
“Conveyed to Auqaf by authorities, that on the highly revered night of Lailatul Qadr when Muslims around the world supplicate and seek Allah’s forgiveness throughout the holy and blessed night, the central Jama Masjid Srinagar will be closed to the people and no shab or prayers will be allowed there,” Mirwaiz said.
“It is extremely regrettable and condemnable that the insensitivity of those in power will deprive tens of thousands of Muslims who for generations visit Jama Masjid on this night, of spiritual solace and worship, causing them and me great grief and dismay. #ShabeQadr,” he said.
In the month of February, the police had not allowed Shabe Barat prayers as well at Jamia Masjid triggering outrage with even chief minister Omar Abdullah expressing his criticism.
Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti, a body of Kashmiri pandits living in Kashmir, criticised the J&K authorities for closing Jamia.
“Is this normalcy in J&K as authorities banned to celebrate Shani Qadr inside the Jama Masjid in Srinagar,” it said in a statement.
PDP president and former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti condemned the decision.
“The shutdown of Jamia Masjid on the sacred night of Laila-tul-Qadr represents another example of collective punishment imposed on Kashmiris. The government which claims & celebrates that it has eradicated separatism persists in viewing every Kashmiri as a potential separatist. Their false narrative of having restored total normalcy is exposed when a historic mosque is closed off to worshippers on a night so deeply cherished by all,” she said on X.
