Re-opening of Jamia- A welcome move

It has been nearly seven months that the historic Jamia Masjid has remained closed for the mandatory as well as the five-time prayers in Old City area of Srinagar, which usually witness a huge rush of devotees on every Friday where the sermons are being delivered. However, the pulpit of the old Masjid remained silent for the 30 consecutive weeks as there has been no prayer at the Masjid in wake of the Covid-19 in Jammu and Kashmir. The closure of Masjid by the administration was criticized by the different religious organizations while the Srinagar Mayor, Junaid Azim Mattu too pleaded for the reopening of the historic Masjid. Moreover, the government is reportedly mulling to reopen the Masjid for the prayers from today and several meetings by the administration as well as by police have been chaired in this regard. Recently, Inspector general of Police (IGP) Kashmir, Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir visited the Masjid and held a meeting with the concerned religious organization and Imam as well. The reopening of Masjid is a welcome move as the Muslims would once again be able to offer prayers at the grand mosque, this is going to bring smiles on the faces of Muslims. The closure of Masjid has certainly hurt the sentiments of people and thus the government should consider not to close the Masjid for the prayers as performing the religious duties is the fundamental right of every citizen and closing the religious places would certainly deprive the people from carrying out their religious obligations.