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New Delhi: Jamia Masjid, the biggest mosque in the summer capital Srinagar, was locked by authorities on Monday (March 31) and worshipers were reportedly turned away as Kashmir prepared to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr which marks the end of Ramazan.

Kashmir’s chief cleric and chairman of the moderate Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who was scheduled to deliver the Eid sermon on the occasion of the culmination of the Islamic calendar’s holiest month said that he had been again put under house-arrest by authorities.

“Without specifying any reason, I have been confined to my home and they [security personnel] are not allowing me to come out,” Mirwaiz told The Wire.

Witnesses and reports said security personnel were deployed in strength in Nowhatta locality of downtown Srinagar where the mosque is located and they didn’t allow the worshipers to enter the premises of the 14th century architectural marvel.

In a statement, Mirwaiz said that he “strongly condemned” the decision to deny the “basic religious right of the Muslims of Kashmir” to offer congregational Eid prayers.

“When huge claims of ‘normalcy’ are made everyday by the authorities, why are Muslims (in Kashmir) being kept away from their religious places and practices? What is the agenda? Is the collective identity of Kashmiri Muslims a threat to the rulers?” Mirwaiz said, adding that the........

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