Authorities in India have refused to allow Islamic congregational prayers in Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid in the Indian occupied region of Jammu and Kashmir for the 21st consecutive Friday.
Jamia Masjid has mostly remained closed after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, which ended the special autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir within India.
The last time Friday prayers were allowed in the mosque was in August 2021, after which the mosque was shut down by India’s authorities.
Anjuman Auqaf Jamia Masjid Srinagar, the unit that manages the affairs of the mosque, expressed its strong resentment over the decision.
Militarized police force personnel were deployed in large numbers and the gates of the mosque remained hermetically locked, disallowing the entry of devotees into the grand mosque.
Jammu and Kashmir has been the scene of recurring conflict ever since the forceful annexation of the territory by India in 1947. The conflict was exacerbated by the decision of Hindutva and anti-Islamic administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to withdraw the autonomous status of the region in 2019.
Photos taken by Ubaid Mukhtar
