Every Friday I am put under house arrest’: Mirwaiz after being prevented to lead prayers at Jamia Masjid

So far this year,he has been allowed to lead Friday prayers seven times.

In a statement on Friday, he said, “Every Friday I am put under arbitrary house arrest! Putting pressure on me not to speak up, the ban also aims to weaken the centrality of Muslim institutions of the valley — the Jama Masjid, office of the Mirwaiz, and cause collective grief to Muslims and all those who oppose this authoritarian and sectarian outlook. My house detention case is still pending in court, where I am seeking relief from the Hon’ble High Court, but in such times patience remains our only strength.”

The Jamia Masjid also remained shut for important days of the Muslim calendar during Ramzan while Mirwaiz, as Kashmir’s head cleric, posted pictures of security deployment outside his residence.

At the time, the Mirwaiz had questioned authorities about why the mosque, which he described as an “important centre of Kashmir’s religious identity”, was being “repeatedly targeted and people’s fundamental right to religious practice curbed, when tall claims of normalcy are trumpeted every day?”

He had said that those ruling in the peoples’ name “cannot absolve themselves from standing up to address this gross injustice”.

In March, the Awami Action Committee, formed as a political, social and religious organisation by Mirwaiz’s father, was also banned by the MHA. Terming the ban “harsh” in a sermon from Jamia on March 22, Mirwaiz emphasised that the AAC has always advocated for the politics of “outreach, dialogue and resolution”.