The Jamia Masjid in Nowhata area of Srinagar city continued to remain shut for the 16th consecutive Friday’s which is not new when we look at the Kashmir history. The ban of offering prayers at Jamia Masjid is centuries old practice that has been adopted by rulers to crush and hurt the sentiments of Kashmir populace from time to time.“The irony is that this issue seems to be immaterial for the present government. Earlier it was Omar Abdullah led government that had earned an ignominious distinction of developing a custom of sealing the Grand Masjid but unexpectedly Mehbooba Mufti led government followed suit,” a renowned cleric told news agency CNS.When we look at the annals of the history we find the practice to disallow prayers at Jamia Masjid began in 1819 when Moti Ram the Kashmir Governor for Sikh monarch Maharaja Ranjit Singh put curbs on offering prayers in Jamia Masjid. The incumbent Indian MoS for External Affairs M.J.Akbar in his book: ‘Kashmir-Behind the Vale’ gives a detailed account about the cubs put by Moti Ram on the prayers at Jamia Masjid. Akbar writes: “The Jamia Masjid remained closed from 1819 to 1842 for 23 consecutive years.
Moti Ram did it to hurt the pride of local Muslim population.”M.J.Akbar writes that a Sikh commander Phula Singh even had wanted to blow up the revered ‘Khankah’ Shah Hamadan mosque in Srinagar, but was later dissuaded from doing so. “It was during this rule that cow slaughter was declared a crime punishable by death and to scare Muslim population the Governor Moti Ram publicly hanged Muslim butchers without any trial.” Shams-ur-Rehman who has written a booklet on the history of Jamia Masjid maintained that though Jamia Masjid was re-opened in 1842 by last Sikh rule governor Shiekh Imam-ud-Din but for 11 years then rulers allowed prayers only on Fridays. “The Masjid would be opened for just few hours on Fridays and closed again. It was only after 1898 the Masjid remained open for devotees though closed occasionally.” Jamia Masjid was constructed by Sultan Sikandar, father of Zainul Aabideen alias Budshah between 1389-1420.
The practice to seal this Grand Masjid yet again started during Omar Abdullah government in 2008, who had then refused to comment on the issue. Following suit, the current PDP-BJP Government prefers to seal the Masjid to curb imminent anti-India protests. Though renowned clerics including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq frequently condemned the government move, but till date government didn’t come up with any satisfied answer. “It is a shameful act to turn Jamia Masjid into a garrison and it is directed interference in our religious affairs,” Mirwaiz told reporters before he was detained by police while trying to march towards Jamia Masjid from his Nigeen residence.Almost all the PDP ministers showed reluctance to talk on the issue while Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh said that the final decision maker is the Chief Minister of the State as she heads the State Home Department. (CNS)