Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Placed Under House Arrest, Denied Permission to Address Khawaja Digar Gathering
The Wire Staff
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New Delhi: Kashmir's Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was placed under house arrest on Monday (August 17) and refused permission to address the Khawaja Digar gathering at Khanqah-e-Naqshband Sahib.
Once again, I have been denied permission to address the time honoured religious gathering of Khawaja Digar in Naqshband Sahab today, he wrote in a post on X that included a video message. He said while thousands awaited his arrival, he was put under house arrest.
The Mirwaiz was scheduled to deliver the address for the Khawaja Digar gathering, a centuries-old Sufi gathering unique to Kashmir, in Srinagar on August 17.
He said was being prevented from addressing congregational religious occasions to "punish him for his political outlook and for raising social and religious concerns of people". It is "unfortunate and shameful to say the least," he wrote in the post.
"What is worse is the continued insensitivity and disrespect for the religious rights and practices of Muslims by the authorities by denying them the right to hear the sermon and participate in a spiritual experience," he wrote.
"Continued silence on it," he said, "will only lead to normalisation of repression of religious rights of Muslims."
Since being released from nearly four years under house arrest since August 2019, Kashmir's Mirwaiz has repeatedly been allowed to resume his role at Srinagar's Jama Masjid and then prevented from doing so, especially on Fridays. His principal religious role is associated with delivering the Friday sermon at the mosque.
During Ramzan in March this year, he was stopped from reaching Jama Masjid for three consecutive Fridays. On March 20, he alleged that police vehicles and a large contingent had been positioned outside his residence and that access to the surrounding lanes had been blocked with concertina wire, blocking traffic movement.
Since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, the Union government has repeatedly presented Jammu and Kashmir as having returned to peace, stability and normalcy.
This article went live on August seventeenth, two thousand twenty six, at thirty minutes past eleven at night.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.