Coronavirus: No Friday congregational prayers in Jammu and Kashmir for third consecutive week

As the number of positive cases of the deadly coronavirus continues to witness a surge in Jammu and Kashmir, no Friday congregational prayers were offered in masjids and shrines across the Union territory for the third consecutive Friday.

Reports said all the major masjids and shrines across Jammu and Kashmir, including Dargah Hazratbal and historic Jamia Masjid in Srinagar remained closed for the prayers. However, in most of the local masjids, only two to three persons offered Friday prayers.

The people have been advised to offer prayers at the home to prevent the spread of deadly virus which has claimed four lives in the UT so-far while nearly 200 persons testing positive.

“This feeling is indescribable ... the minarets are crying. The masjids which were once full of worshippers are empty…,” Muzaffar Ahmad, a muezzin (who gives call for prayers) at one of the masjids in Srinagar, told DH.

Prayer is one of the "five pillars" of Islam, performed five times a day by the devout, but enjoined as a congregational activity only at noon on Fridays. But as the pandemic spread, authorities ordered suspension of congregational prayers, leaving Muslims to pray at home.

Several religious authorities across the world have urged Muslim to pray at home as, “Islam promotes life, not death.” “People can pray at home when our religion allows it, there is no need to go to mosques till the situation gets normal,” they said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Shahid Iqbal Choudhary said the ongoing lockdown to prevent spread of COVID-19 pandemic has been intensified. He said the lockdown was not a “law and order one” but an effort to ensure that people stay back home to fight the spread of Covid-19. “We urge people not to move out of their homes as we get to see people coming outdoors during the evenings,” he said.

There were reports of police resorting to cane-charging on people found allegedly violating lock down orders in several parts of Kashmir. Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed on roads across the Valley and they had erected concertina wire to block the movement of people to prevent movement of people and vehicles.