Srinagar – Kashmir’s head priest Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has hailed the role of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei for championing Muslim unity and the Palestinian cause and called for reviving Kashmir’s historic ties with Iran and Central Asia.
Addressing a rally held in memory of Ayatollah Khamenei here on Sunday, the Mirwaiz expressed solidarity with the people of Iran and said the late leader’s commitment to Muslim unity and the cause of the oppressed would long be remembered.
Ayatollah Khamenei was assassinated by the US and Israel when they targeted his residence in Tehran on February 28, triggering a regional war and mass protests across many countries, including Kashmir.
A Leader of the Oppressed
“Ayatullah Khamenei was a towering figure of the Muslim Ummah who consistently stood for the oppressed and voiceless, especially the people of Palestine,” the Mirwaiz said, adding that the late Iranian leader’s passing had left a deep void in the broader Islamic world.
Recalling Ayatullah Khamenei’s special affection for the people of Kashmir, the Mirwaiz remembered his historic visit to the Valley and his offering of Friday prayers at the iconic Jama Masjid, Srinagar, alongside the late Mirwaiz Molvi Muhammad Farooq. He appreciated the late leader’s sustained efforts in promoting Muslim unity and said that in today’s turbulent times — marked by deepening political, social and moral crises — the imperative to uphold unity and mutual respect within the Ummah had assumed even greater significance.
Failure of Int’l Institutes
Expressing serious concern over the prevailing international situation, the Mirwaiz said the global politics of “might is right” was pushing the world towards unprecedented instability and peril.
“No war can ever truly be won through the violation of international laws and human values,” he said, warning that people across the world were rapidly losing faith in multilateral institutions, including the United Nations, which he said had increasingly failed to uphold the principles on which they were founded.
The Mirwaiz did not name any specific country, but his remarks were widely seen as a reference to ongoing conflicts in West Asia and beyond, where powerful nations have been accused of flouting international humanitarian law.
Reviving Kashmir’s Silk Route Connection
Mirwaiz highlighted Kashmir’s deep historic, civilisational and cultural ties with Iran and Central Asia, urging that these centuries-old connections be actively revisited and revived.
“These deep-rooted connections, dating back to the Silk Route era, need to be revisited and revived,” he said, noting that Kashmir’s arts, crafts, carpets, language and intellectual traditions all bore the unmistakable imprint of this centuries-old association.
He stressed that strengthening these cultural and historical bonds would be of immense benefit to future generations and would help Kashmir reclaim and reassert its distinct civilisational identity on the global stage.
Mirwaiz said that the Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU) would continue to work for sectarian unity, mutual respect and brotherhood among all schools of thought within the Muslim Ummah.
“We will not allow the forces of division to succeed,” he said, reiterating the MMU’s commitment to building bridges across sectarian lines.
The rally, organised to pay tribute to Ayatullah Khamenei, was organised by Anjuman Sharie Shiayan, led by Agha Syed Hadi, and was attended by a large gathering of religious scholars, community leaders and members of the public from across the Srinagar region.
This article has been automatically published using a syndicated feed. The content is sourced externally and may not have been reviewed by The Freelancers Team.
