Mirwaiz questions ‘silence’ of elected leaders over curbs on religious rights

Hurriyat Conference chairman and chief cleric of Jamia Masjid, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, on Friday expressed deep concern over the continued restrictions on Eid prayers at Eidgah and Jama Masjid, warning against the “growing normalisation” of what he described as “abnormal circumstances.”

Addressing the Friday congregation at Jama Masjid Srinagar, Mirwaiz said that this year too, as on previous occasions, Eid prayers were not allowed at Eidgah and Jama Masjid.

While acknowledging the disappointment and hurt caused by such restrictions, he said he wished to draw attention to what he termed “something even more troubling.”

“The greatest danger to any society is when abnormal things begin to appear normal,” Mirwaiz said.

He observed that when people are repeatedly denied the opportunity to gather peacefully for prayers year after year, future generations may begin to believe that such circumstances are normal. “It is not,” he asserted.

Mirwaiz said there was nothing normal about a historic Eidgah remaining silent on Eid morning or a Jama Masjid being closed to worshippers on one of the most sacred occasions in the Islamic calendar.

He said his concern was not limited to the restrictions alone, but also to the growing silence surrounding the issue. He particularly criticised the silence of elected representatives, calling it “completely unacceptable.”

“Watching as mere spectators, pleading powerlessness, yet benefitting from their positions. They cannot remain silent when the religious institutions and rights of the majority that elected them are under assault. It is their basic duty to stand up and at least raise their voice,” he said.

Mirwaiz further said that in every democratic society, institutions are judged not by how they respond to easy issues, but by how they react when fundamental freedoms and public sentiments are affected.

“Silence may be convenient, but it hollows out institutions, disempowers people and adds to their sense of loss,” he said.

Referring to the repeated restrictions on Eid prayers, Mirwaiz said the issue raised serious questions about whether the religious, cultural and historical identity of a people was being respected and accommodated, or expected to gradually adjust to repeated restrictions.

“The issue is of our basic existence as a people,” he said, adding that it required serious reflection from all sections of society.