MMU calls for release of Mirwaiz, other religious leaders

Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU) Jammu and Kashmir an amalgam of religious, social and educational organisations in Kashmir Friday expressed concern over the continued house detention of its founder and patron Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir Dr Moulvi Muhammad Umar Farooq, incarcerated since August 4, 2019, leading to 211th consecutive Friday when he was disallowed from offering Friday prayers and delivering the Friday sermon at the historic Jama Masjid Srinagar as per the centuries old Muslim tradition of the valley.

The MMU said that due to prolonged detention of the Mirwaiz, the mimbar-o-mihrab (pulpit) of the historic Central Jama Masjid Srinagar has been rendered silent for the last more than 4 years which otherwise would reverberate with the sermons of Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir.

This authoritarian and harsh step of the administration to keep the valley’s top religious leader under continued detention is a violation of his religious and human rights and simultaneously it is direct interference in the religious practices and traditions of the Muslims of the valley causing deep hurt to their feelings and sentiments, MMU said.

MMU said that besides the Mirwaiz religious scholars Molvi Abdul Rashid Dawoodi and Molana Mushtaq Veeri have also been detained and jailed.

MMU said that it again appeals to the authorities, especially Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, to walk the talk and ensure the release of Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir and other religious scholars detained, especially in view of the arrival of the holy month of Rabiyul Awwal so that the Mirwaiz continues with centuries-old tradition of the Mirwaizeen of disseminating religious teachings and moral values among the members of his society.

MMU also urged the state to release the Secretary of MMU Molana Syed ur Rehman Shams lodged in central jail Srinagar.

The constituent organisations of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema include Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid Srinagar, Darul Uloom Raheemiya Bandipora, Grand Mufti’s Muslim Personal Law Board, Anjuman Shari-e-Shiaan, Jamiat Ahle Hadeeth, Jama’at-e-Islami, Karwaan-e-Islami, Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen, Anjuman-ul-Islam, Anjuman Tabligh-e-Islam, Jamiat Hamdaniyyah, Anjuman Ulema-e-Ahnaf, Darul Uloom Qasmiya, Darul Uloom Bilaliya, Anjuman Nusrat-ul-Islam, Anjuman Mazharul Haq, Jamiat-ul-Aima Wal Ulema, Anjuman Aima Wa Mashaaikh Kashmir, Darul Uloom Naqshbandiyya, Darul Uloom Rasheediyyah, Ahle Bayt Foundation, Madrasah Kanz-ul-Uloom, Peerwaan-e-Wilayat, Auqaf Islamia Khurram Sirhama, Bazm-e-Tawheed Ahle Hadeeth Trust, Anjuman Tanzeem-al-Makatib, Muhammadi Trust, Anjuman Anwar-ul-Islam, Kaarwaan-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat, Darul Uloom Syed Al Mursaleen, Anjuman Ulema and Aima Masaajid, Falah Dareen Trust Welfare Society Islamabad, Idarah Wahdat-ul-Makaatib Jammu Kashmir, Darul Uloom Imdaadiya Natipora and other contemporary religious, social and educational associations and their representatives.