This Ramzan, religious authorities in Kashmir are tied up in knots over a piece of clothing — low-rise jeans.
Ramzan, the holy month during which Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, started on Thursday, with many mosque-goers getting annoyed at the sight of people in low-rise jeans.
“When a man wearing low-waist jeans bows to pray in a mosque, he reveals his back. This goes against Islamic tehzeeb,” said Jamaat-e-Islami spokesman Zahid Ali.
Ali is not the only religious figure who feels strongly about this. “The prayer remains incomplete in such clothes,” said Ghulam Rasool Hami, head of the Carvan-e-Islami.
Srinagar’s seminaries have even started campaigns on social networking sites against the practice of wearing revealing jeans to mosques. Priests are also thinking of addressing the concern through sermons.
Ghulam Rasool Malik of the Jamiat Ahle-Hadees said: “Covering one’s body from waist to the ankles is a must.”