The Dhaka Times Desk Strict restrictions have been imposed after the central government of India withdrew Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir. Jama Masjid, the largest and historic Jama Masjid in Kashmir, has not held Friday prayers for more than 4 consecutive months.
According to media reports, not only is prayer prohibited, but the mosque has a sign saying, 'Do not take any pictures.' go away If they realize that you are a journalist, they will beat you too.' These 'stars' refer to paramilitary forces deployed around this mosque in Kashmir.
Such information has emerged in a report of the international media Al-Jazeera. According to the news, this famous mosque has been locked since August 5 when the state was partitioned by scrapping the special status of this disputed valley. At the end of October, the law officially bifurcating Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories came into force.
Religious gatherings are also reportedly banned in India's only Muslim-majority region. Along with this, entry restrictions were also imposed on various important mosques, in which people used to offer 5 daily prayers.
The report also said that even last Friday, thousands of people from the entire valley gathered around the mosque to offer prayers, but the security forces dispersed them.
It is known that an area next to this mosque is Nowhatta. Khalid Bashir, a resident there, told the media, 'The authorities have considered this religious gathering in Kashmir as a threat. The situation is getting worse every moment. For the past few months, the people of this Muslim-majority place are also being prevented from practicing their religion.'
A person named Syed Ahmed Naxabandi has been engaged as Imam of Jama Masjid since 1963. The 80-year-old imam said, 'We are basically oppressing this region by blocking it. Since Jama Masjid has been closed since August 5, I have to go to a mosque 5 kilometers away to offer prayers.
Imam Ahmed Naxabandi also said that, 'The kind of satisfaction that comes from praying in Jama Masjid is impossible to find anywhere else. I feel very bad not being able to pray there. The presence of police and paramilitary forces in mosques has become a threat to people.'
Syed Rahman Shams, a member of the Jama Masjid management committee, said in this regard, 'This is not the first time, many times before we have had an incident where we have been banned from offering prayers here. In 2016, the government authorities locked the mosque for 16 consecutive Fridays to stop prayers. That record is also broken now.'
Kashmir-based human rights activist Khurram Parviz told Al Jazeera, 'This is not new today. People of Kashmir have been seeing this since last August.
Khurram Parviz also said, 'According to the Indian Constitution, religious observance of every person is recognized as his fundamental right. However, since 1990 or earlier, the people of Kashmir have been deprived of this right. Even though other international organizations including the United Nations condemned it, it did not make any difference.
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