Curbs On Friday Prayers Attack On Islam

Srinagar, November 01: The grand mufti of Kashmir, Mufti Basheeruddin, flayed the government curbs on Friday prayers, saying that the practice was an insult to Islamic mores.

The moves assumes significance as the office of the grand mufti is widely believed to be the creation of Sheikh Abdullah, the founder of the ruling NC, to undercut the influence of the Mirwaiz family which has traditionally been a rival to the NC’s politics.

Terming the Kashmir issue as one lingering for the past 63 years on which the first prime minister of independent India had made specific promises to the masses, the Mufti asked the Jami’at-e-Ulama-e-Hind to adopt a “correct” approach to the question.

In a strongly-worded statement, the grand mufti said that curbs on Friday prayers, particularly at the Jamia Masjid (a Mirwaiz bastion), were an aggression against Islamic tenets, and that people would be prompted to remove the bars themselves if the situation persisted.

He asked all clerics and religious leaders to raise their voice against the government for imposing restrictions on Friday prayers, and said that the masses should ensure a peaceful atmosphere for the namaz.

The Mufti demanded that all leaders and clerics, including Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani, should be freed from house arrest, and asked authorities to have an open mind to accept the truth.

-Agencies