Mirwaiz expresses concern over growing normalisation of restrictions on religious rights
Srinagar, May 29: Addressing the Friday congregation at Jama Masjid Srinagar, Mirwaiz-e-Kashmir Dr. Moulvi Muhammad Umar Farooq expressed deep concern over the continued restrictions on Eid prayers at Eidgah and Jama Masjid and warned against the growing normalisation of what he described as abnormal circumstances.
Mirwaiz said that this year, as on previous occasions, Eid prayers were not allowed at Eidgah and Jama Masjid. While the disappointment and hurt caused by such restrictions were real, he said he wished to draw attention to something even more troubling.
“The greatest danger to any society is when abnormal things begin to appear normal,” Mirwaiz said.
He observed that when a people are repeatedly denied the opportunity to gather peacefully for prayer, year after year, there is a risk that future generations may begin to think that this is how things are supposed to be. “It is not,” he asserted.
Mirwaiz said there is nothing normal about a historic Eidgah remaining silent on Eid morning. There is nothing normal about a Jama Masjid being closed to worshippers on one of the most sacred days of the Islamic calendar. There is nothing normal, he said, about a community being separated from traditions that have defined its religious life for centuries.
He said what concerns him is not only the action of those who impose such restrictions, but also the growing silence around it. While acknowledging that avenues of expression, both individually and collectively, are severely impaired by enforced gags, bans, threats and arrests, Mirwaiz said that silence is not an option.
He particularly termed the silence of those elected by the people as completely unacceptable. Watching as mere spectators, pleading powerlessness, yet benefitting from their positions, he said, they cannot remain silent when the religious institutions and rights of the majority that elected them are under assault. It is their basic duty, he said, to stand up to it and at least raise their voice.
Mirwaiz remarked that in every democratic society, institutions are judged not by how they respond to easy issues, but by how they respond when fundamental freedoms and deeply held public sentiments are affected. Silence may be convenient, he said, but it hollows out institutions, disempowers people and adds to their sense of loss.
Referring to the repeated restrictions on Eid prayers, Mirwaiz said they pose a serious question before the people. The issue, he said, is whether the religious, cultural and historical identity of a people is respected and accommodated, or whether it is expected to quietly adjust to every restriction placed upon it and gradually get dissolved.
“The issue is of our basic existence as a people,” Mirwaiz said, adding that it demands serious thinking by one and all. He posed the question: “What should we do?”
He said that whatever is decided as a people, the guiding principle in shaping the collective response must remain rooted in upholding dignity and preservation.
At the same time, Mirwaiz urged people not to allow disappointment to turn into despair. He said the beautiful faith of Islam provides hope and strength even in difficult times. The history of this land, he said, teaches that despite repeated onslaughts, institutions have endured because people continued to cherish and protect them in their hearts and memory.
“As long as that faith remains alive within, no restriction can erase it,” he said.
Concluding his address, Mirwaiz prayed that Allah guide the people, strengthen them, and help them preserve their faith, values and institutions with wisdom and steadfastness.
