Islamic organizations seeks ban on Bhajans, Surya Namaskar in Kashmir schools after Mehbooba Mufti triggers row

Srinagar, Sept 27: In a bizarre incident, Islamic organizations have demanded that the Jammu and Kashmir administration should ban the singing of Hindu bhajans and Surya Namaskar in the schools of the Valley. "This matter is a cause of great concern and an attempt to undermine our religious identity," it claimed.

 

 

This came after ‘Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema’ (United body of religious scholars), an association of local Muslim/Islamic scholars demanded the ban. Notably, the ‘Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema’ is a body of around 30 Islamic and educational institutions in the Valley.

 

 

The Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema said that the singing of bhajans and Surya Namaskar in schools of the Kashmir division is “hurting the religious sentiments” of the local Muslims therefore a demand is needed. The leaders of this religious body held a meeting on Saturday at the Jamia Masjid in old Srinagar city Nowhatta area and passed a resolution.

 

"It is becoming clear that there seems to be a deliberate plan to push our young generation through state-run educational institutions towards apostasy, to wean them away from Islamic beliefs and identity, to speed their so called "integration", with the Hindutva idea of India. This is a very serious matter," MMU said.

 

They claimed that “The practice of asking school children to sing bhajans and do Surya Namaskar has created anguish among the local Muslims” adding that the practice is aimed at undermining the identity of Kashmir. "We strongly resent the practice of furthering the Hindutva agenda through schools and educational institutions," the resolution said.

 

It is pertinent to mention that it was former chief minister and president of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mehbooba Mufti triggered such baseless row. She had shared a video of school children singing bhajans and doing Surya Namaskar at the behest of the teachers in a government school in south Kashmir Kulgam district.

 

 

"Jailing religious scholars, shutting down Jama Masjid & directing school kids here to sing Hindu hymns exposes the real hindutva agenda of GOI in Kashmir. Refusing these rabid dictates invites PSA & UAPA. It is the cost that we are paying for this so called “Badalta J&K”," she had tweeted.

 

Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema also said that efforts to browbeat Muslim Ulemas and scholars and weaken their influence in J&K is being carried out as the recent spate of arrests of respected Ulemas and religious heads and invoking of PSA against them shows, and the continued detention of MMU patron and Mirwaiz of Kashmir for last three years. Yet despite all odds and pressures,MMU will try to convene a meeting of its members to discuss and deliberate upon this serious matter and formulate a unified strategy in this regard. MMU asked people, including teachers, to show resilience to such diktats from authorities that go against the very grain of our religious beliefs and identity.

 

The constituent organisations of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Ulema include: Anjuman Augaf Jama Masjid Srinagar, Darul Uloom Raheemiya Bandipora, Grand Mufti's Muslim Personal Law Board, Anjuman Shari'an Shiaan, Jamiat Ahle Hadeeth, Jama'at-e-Islami, Karwaan-e-Islami, Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen, Anjuman Himayat-ul-Islam, Anjuman Tabligh-e-Islam, Jamiat Hamadaniyah, Anjuman Ulema-e-Ahnaf, Darul Uloom Qasmiya, Darul Uloom Bilaliya, Anjuman Nusrat-ul-Islam, Anjuman Mazhar-ul-Haq, Jamiat-ul-Aima Wa Ulema, Anjuman Aima Wa Mashaaikh Kashmir, Darul Uloom Naqshbandiya, Darul Uloom Rasheediya, Ahl-e-Bayt Foundation, Madrasa Kanz-ul-Uloom, Peerwan-e-Wilaayat, Auqaf Islamia Khirram Sirhama, Bazm-e-Tawheed Ahl-e-Hadeeth Trust, Anjuman Tanzeem-al-Makatib, Muhammadi Trust, Anjuman Anwar-ul-Islam, Karwaan-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat, Darul Uloom Syed Al Mursaleen, Anjuman Ulema Wa Aima Masaajid, Falah Dareen Trust Welfare Society Islamabad, Darul Uloom Natipora Srinagar and other contemporary religious, social and educational associations.