No Friday prayers in over 4 months in Kashmir's largest mosque
By Nisar Dharma & Muhammad Younis
Residents under lockdown say even their religious freedom is being violated as mosques and shrines remain out of bounds.
Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir- "Don't click any pictures. Run away. If they find out that you are journalists, they will beat you up."
These were the words of a local policeman posted at one of the pickets at Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in Indian-administered Kashmir's main city of Srinagar.
The "they" he referred to was a battery of paramilitary troopers deployed around the square leading to the 600-year-old mosque.
Since August 5, when the disputed Himalayan region was stripped of its partial autonomy and put under a crippling lockdown, padlocks have been hanging from the doors of the famous mosque.
Later in October, the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was formally divided into two federally-controlled "union territories".
The lockdown also included restrictions on religious gatherings in India's only Muslim-majority region, with the authorities banning the entry of people into Kashmir's important mosques, where devotees offered their prayers five times a day.
Record closure of main mosque
On Fridays, the Jama Masjid in Srinagar used to be thronged by thousands of Muslims from all over the valley.
But December 6 marked the 17th straight Friday when prayers could not take place at the mosque...
via Al Jazeera
Residents under lockdown say even their religious freedom is being violated as mosques and shrines remain out of bounds.
Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir- "Don't click any pictures. Run away. If they find out that you are journalists, they will beat you up."
These were the words of a local policeman posted at one of the pickets at Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in Indian-administered Kashmir's main city of Srinagar.
The "they" he referred to was a battery of paramilitary troopers deployed around the square leading to the 600-year-old mosque.
Since August 5, when the disputed Himalayan region was stripped of its partial autonomy and put under a crippling lockdown, padlocks have been hanging from the doors of the famous mosque.
Later in October, the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir was formally divided into two federally-controlled "union territories".
The lockdown also included restrictions on religious gatherings in India's only Muslim-majority region, with the authorities banning the entry of people into Kashmir's important mosques, where devotees offered their prayers five times a day.
Record closure of main mosque
On Fridays, the Jama Masjid in Srinagar used to be thronged by thousands of Muslims from all over the valley.
But December 6 marked the 17th straight Friday when prayers could not take place at the mosque...
via Al Jazeera