Mirwaiz concerned over killing of five Muslim youth in police firing during survey of Shahi Jamia Masjid in Sambhal
Srinagar: All Parties Hurriyat Conference senior leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has expressed concern over the killing of five Muslim youth in police firing during the survey of the 500-year-old Shahi Jamia Masjid in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh state of India.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq addressing the Friday congregation at Jamia Masjid in Srinagar, the survey was ordered by the court. The killing of these youth in discriminatory police action is very distressing and condemnable, he added.
He said another court in Rajasthan’s Ajmer ordered the survey of the state’s iconic Ajmer Sharif Dargah of the revered Sufi saint Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti (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. The Babri Masjid issue, after such claims, followed by its demolition and how it was settled by courts, is fresh in the minds of Muslims”, he lamented
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq termed it an extremely disturbing and serious issue for the Muslims of not only India and Kashmir but the subcontinent and the world over. The shrine of the great Sufi and wali, Hazrat Moinuddin, he said, is revered by Muslims all over the world, where thousands of people visit daily. This 800-year-old shrine is linked to the history and culture of the spread of Islam in the Indian subcontinent. It holds special significance for the people of Kashmir, who visit the Dargah as a pilgrimage, he maintained.
He said such actions backed by the judiciary and government deeply undermine the religious sentiments of crores of Muslims living in this part of the world. “If India is a secular state as per its preamble, run by a constitution which includes the Places of Worship Act, then why are such issues allowed to be raked up and entertained continuously?” Mirwaiz said, adding people know the answer. “But this is a dangerous trend that is being encouraged and can have very serious consequences.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said already the issue of the Waqf amendment is worrying the Muslims in India, as also in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, for which MMU has again sent a letter to the JPC on the matter asking for a meeting.”
He also criticised the actions of the police in preventing media coverage of his speech at Jamia Masjid by barring their entry into the mosque. He denounced the restriction on the press, emphasizing that it is crucial for the media to freely report on matters of public interest and concern.
