“This is the place where our prayers get heard,” an elderly woman said amid tears.

SRINAGAR — The historic Jamia Masjid was thrown open fo devotees today on the occasion of Friday following Meraj-e-Alam, Anjuman-e-Auqaf, Jamia Masjid said.

The congregational Friday prayers at the Kashmir’s historic mosque have been disallowed for 156 Fridays in the last six years. The Masjid was reopened today after 31 weeks. 

“People in large numbers came to the Masjid and there was a huge gathering today in view of Meraj-e-Alam,” Abdul  Rasheed Bhat, a devotee said.

“Over these years, the closure of central masjid hurt our religious sentiments badly,” he said, adding that unfortunately, he couldn’t see Kashmir’s head priest Mirwaiz Umer Farooq on the pulpit of the Jamia Masjid today.

Mirwaiz has been under house detention since August 5, 2019, when the Centre abrogated Article 370.

Emotional scenes were witnessed at the Masjid as a large number of devotees were seen kissing the pillars of the grand mosque. “This is the place where our prayers get heard,” an elderly woman said amid tears.

While welcoming the decision of the administration for opening Jamia Masjid, Jammu and Kashmir Civil Society Forum in a statement, demanded the release of Mirwaiz Moulvi Mohammad Umer Farooq from illegal house detention and his availability as a religious scholar and preacher at Jamia Masjid for leading Friday prayers to satisfy the soul of the people.