Srinagar, February 15 Moderate separatist leader and Kashmir's chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said on Sunday that Muslims in the country were experiencing a "sensitive and challenging period," and that there was "increasing communal polarization" which has caused anxiety and insecurity within segments of the community.
The Mirwaiz told reporters after a religious conference in central Kashmir's Budgam district that mosques were being targeted, Muslim properties were being "vandalized," and attacks on Muslims were taking place.
"Muslims in the country are also going through a sensitive and challenging period amid rising communal polarization and circumstances that have caused anxiety and insecurity within segments of the community," he said, adding that "we must become the voice of the voiceless."
The separatist-cum-religious leader said that the holy month of Ramzan was arriving at a time when the Muslim world was "facing serious challenges."
"Killings are continuing in Palestine...Similarly, if we talk about Iran or West Asia, there are attempts to create disturbances. It is concerning. The suffering of Muslims across regions is deeply distressing," he said.
The Mirwaiz expressed serious concern over the targeting of mosques and termed it an "unwarranted interference in religious matters."
He called for an immediate halt to such actions and urged that religious institutions be allowed to function freely and with dignity.
Expressing hope that there will be no "interference" in religious affairs during the holy month, he said that the authorities should respect and uphold the religious rights of the people, particularly ensuring that places of worship, including the historic Jamia Masjid Srinagar, function without any obstruction.