Times Now -Mumbai, IndiaFriday, May 25, 2007
It is an integral part of Kashmiri culture – Sufism or the Sufi tradition -- evident in the hundreds of shrines that dot the valley with followers that run into hundreds.
But in the volatile valley, faith is embroiled in a confrontation between the men who are caretakers of the shrines and the men in uniform who have almost become the other prominent feature of the valley -- the army.
Muslim leaders are angry after the army helped renovate a mosque claiming Islam does not permit any non-Muslim to do so and allege the move has political motives. “If the army does not stop interfering, a severe agitation will be led against them,” threatened Hurriyat Conference Leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq.
However, the army insists there is a misunderstanding and says it was just an attempt to improve contact with the locals.
It is an integral part of Kashmiri culture – Sufism or the Sufi tradition -- evident in the hundreds of shrines that dot the valley with followers that run into hundreds.
But in the volatile valley, faith is embroiled in a confrontation between the men who are caretakers of the shrines and the men in uniform who have almost become the other prominent feature of the valley -- the army.
Muslim leaders are angry after the army helped renovate a mosque claiming Islam does not permit any non-Muslim to do so and allege the move has political motives. “If the army does not stop interfering, a severe agitation will be led against them,” threatened Hurriyat Conference Leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq.
However, the army insists there is a misunderstanding and says it was just an attempt to improve contact with the locals.
[picture: Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq]
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