Senior All Parties Hurriyat Conference leader and chief cleric of Jamia Masjid Srinagar Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has strongly condemned a directive requiring caretakers of mosques to seek prior consent from the Waqf head appointed by India’s Modi regime before delivering Friday sermons.

According to a Kashmir Media Service report, Farooq in a statement in Srinagar termed the move an attack on the religious rights and freedoms of the Muslim community. The APHC leader expressed concern over the directive, stating, ‘The move by a BJP-ruled state asking mutawalis to seek consent from the state-appointed Waqf head before Friday sermons is a direct attack on the religious rights and freedom of the Muslim community, besides being beyond the jurisdiction of any Waqf Board. It exposes the real motive behind the Waqf Amendment Bill brought in the Indian parliament by BJP.’

Mirwaiz labeled the directive as an unacceptable intrusion into religious affairs, vowing that it would be ‘strongly opposed’ by Muslims. He also extended support to the Indian Muslim leader Asaduddin Owaisi and others opposing such measures, emphasizing solidarity in defending religious freedoms.

Addressing the broader socio-political context, Mirwaiz criticized as a ‘communal narrative’ propagated in election-bound states. ‘The cruel and vicious no-holds-barred communal narrative propagated against Muslims through speeches and advertisements further increases the insecurities and alienation of the Muslim-majority people of IIOJK, raising concerns about their future,’ he stated.