Attempt to revive separatism in Kashmir (file photo)
Naveen Nawaz, Jagran, Srinagar. Efforts are being made to worsen the situation again by creating a new dispute in Jammu and Kashmir, which is breathing freedom after freedom from the shackles of terrorism and separatism. This effort is being made from within the state itself and by those people who call themselves the biggest sympathizers of Kashmir.
He is giving a communal color to a purely administrative process to make himself relevant and fulfill his political interests, calling it an attack on religious freedom.
Uproar over survey of mosques and madrassas
This matter has come up during the ongoing survey for information about mosques, madrassas and imams. However, this is not happening for the first time in Kashmir. Even before this, there has been chaos while the administration or police was collecting information about mosques and Imams of a particular area. Earlier, whenever such action took place, it was the separatist camp that raised the alarm. Now there are no separatists, but the parties which are indirectly doing mainstream politics by fueling separatism in Kashmir are now doing this work.
Be it the ruling National Conference, People's Democratic Party President Mehbooba Mufti, People's Conference Chairman Sajjad Ghani Lone or Kashmir's prominent religious leader Mirwaiz Maulvi Omar Farooq, all are opposing the survey saying that it is an attack on Islam. Mehbooba Mufti has simply said that first check the temples and priests.
Need to learn from Islamic countries
Kashmir's social worker Salim Reshi said that I too have objections, but why are you protesting here. There is no need for this uproar in Jammu and Kashmir. This survey is not a bad thing. The Saudi Arabian government also monitors every mosque there, appoints imams and maulvis there as per its wish and decides the subject of their sermons.
If any Maulvi or Imam speaks against the policies of the government or promotes any fundamentalist thinking, he is immediately removed from his responsibility and legal action is also taken against him, then why can't the government do the same here in Kashmir.
He said that I have lived in Oman and Qatar. I have also seen the conditions there. There too, mosques are monitored by the government. Many people from Jammu and Kashmir are in UAE. You ask them how mosques are built there. License is issued. What activities are taking place in the mosques, what kind of speeches are those Maulvi and Khateeb giving? Everyone remains under surveillance. Their financial affairs are also scrutinized.
'Will not allow fundamentalist thinking to flourish in mosques'
Abrar, who has operated a showroom of Kashmiri handicrafts in Indonesia, said that Indonesia is considered the biggest democracy among Islamic countries. Radical thinking is not allowed to flourish in mosques there. Registration of mosques is necessary there too and the government monitors the activities there. When you register, the complete details of the mosque and its related managers also go to the government.
If this is happening here in Jammu and Kashmir, then I do not see anything bad in it. Türkiye's Diyanet controls thousands of mosques. Releases sermon templates every week and actively combats the radicalization of ideology.
The white collar module surprised me
Syed Amjad Shah, an expert on Kashmir affairs and editor of Diplomat digital newspaper, said that we should keep one thing in mind that we have been facing terrorist violence here for a long time. The tendency behind this terrorist violence is a narrow fundamentalist religious ideology and that ideology does not match the centuries-old Sufi Islamic ideology of Kashmir. There is no need to go back too far. Everyone would know about the white collar module caught in October.
During the last three decades, cemeteries have been built in every street and locality in Kashmir. They have become so by misleading the local youth in the name of religion, Islam. When you study terrorist cases, you will find how some religious platforms have been misused to radicalize youth, justify violence and facilitate terror financing.
How is audit done in other religions?
Advocate Ajat Jamwal said that there is a fundamental right to religious belief in our Constitution, but religious freedom can never be above transparency, accountability and law. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti would also understand this very well. In our country, Hindu temples are audited by state officials, priests are registered, temple lands are regulated and donations are scrutinized. Churches and Gurudwaras operate under the same legal framework that governs trusts and societies.
You cannot argue for keeping mosques out of administrative monitoring in the name of secularism. The administration is just conducting a survey. Has any Maulvi at any place been stopped from giving sermon in the mosque before Namaz-e-Jummah or on any other occasion? Has there been any talk of closing any mosque here, no. Then how is this an attack on any religion? The one who is calling it a shock, what does he want? He only wants to do politics here, by creating communal tension among the people, he wants to indirectly help those people who, by misleading Kashmiris in the name of religion, have killed Kashmiris at the hands of Kashmiris.
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