Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Barred from Jama Masjid for Third Friday

On December 20, for the third consecutive Friday, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the spiritual leader of Kashmir, was prevented from attending prayers and delivering the weekly sermon at the historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar. 

Mirwaiz shared his dismay over the restrictions on his X handle, decrying the continued denial of his religious duties.

Despite the biting cold, thousands of worshippers, including elderly individuals, women, children, and physically challenged persons, gathered outside the mosque in the hope of hearing Mirwaiz’s sermon. But the Indian military had barricaded the gate and did not permit worshippers to congregate.

In a statement, the Mirwaiz expressed profound hurt over the authorities’ actions, describing the use of “brute force” against peaceful worshippers as both unjust and heartless. He emphasized the immense emotional pain caused to the people of Kashmir, who are repeatedly denied the right to practice their faith freely, and to him personally as their spiritual leader.

“These restrictions are impervious to the grief and pain they inflict upon the Muslim community,” the Mirwaiz said, adding that such actions represent a continued assault on Kashmir’s religious and cultural freedoms.

The barring of the Mirwaiz from the Jama Masjid, a centuries-old spiritual and cultural institution, has been widely criticized as a deliberate move to stifle dissent and alienate the region’s people.