Jama Masjid Srinagar Shut Yet Again on Jumat‑ul‑Vida

SRINAGAR: The mosques, hospices, and other places of Muslim worship across Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh witnessed large gatherings on Jumat‑ul‑Vida, the final Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, with the largest congregation—over 1.2 lakh devotees—assembling at Srinagar’s lakeside Hazratbal shrine.

In sharp contrast, the authorities once again locked the gates of Srinagar’s historic Jama Masjid, preventing worshippers from offering the special Friday prayers there. Chief cleric Mirwaiz Muhammad Umar Farooq, who was scheduled to deliver the sermon and the customary post‑sermon address on issues concerning the people of J&K and the wider Muslim community, was placed under house arrest.

Responding to the restrictions, the Mirwaiz said that on this sacred Friday, when tens of thousands traditionally gather at Jama Masjid for prayers and supplication, the mosque’s gates had been shut yet again. He noted that this marked the seventh consecutive year in which Muslims were denied the right to offer Jumat‑ul‑Vida prayers at the Grand Mosque, drawing a painful parallel to the closure of Masjid al‑Aqsa during Ramadan. “Our hearts bleed,” he said, calling it deeply shameful that the houses of Allah were being locked against the faithful, and reiterated on X, “Our hearts bleed. Shame on those who lock the houses of Allah against the faithful.”

The Anjuman Auqaf Jama Masjid strongly condemned the continued closure, stating that authorities had sealed all entrances and placed the Mirwaiz under house arrest, preventing him from delivering the sermon on this spiritually significant day. The management expressed anguish that for seven years in a row, worshippers had been deprived of their right to pray at the Valley’s central congregational mosque, stressing that such curbs hurt religious sentiments and amount to denying a fundamental right. It added that the repeated, arbitrary closures of Jama Masjid throughout the year reflect persistent insecurities and an unjustified policy of restricting religious practices.

While authorities have not issued any official explanation for the latest shutdown, past instances have been justified on grounds of security concerns.

Meanwhile, protests erupted on Friday in several Shia‑majority areas of Kashmir, including Magam and Budgam, in response to the US‑Israel strikes on Iran, officials said. Anticipating demonstrations on the last Friday of Ramadan, authorities imposed restrictions early in the morning in certain parts of Srinagar and some other areas of the Valley, particularly in neighbourhoods with significant Shia populations.

Officials noted that curbs on public gatherings were enforced as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order amid the likelihood of protests. Demonstrators raised slogans condemning what they described as US and Israeli aggression in Iran and expressing solidarity with Palestine. The protests, however, remained peaceful, officials added, saying the situation was under close watch.

Jumat-ul‑Vida is also observed as Youm‑ul‑Quds in Kashmir, Iran and some other parts of the world to express support for the Palestinian cause. Authorities feared that large congregational prayers could be followed by anti‑Israel demonstrations. The first formal announcement of Quds Day was made by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on August 7, 1979, shortly after the Iranian Revolution. He declared that the last Friday of Ramadan would be observed annually as a day of global Muslim solidarity with Palestine and opposition to Israeli control over Jerusalem.