The closure of one of India-administered Kashmir’s largest Islamic seminaries has left hundreds of students displaced, with families and critics viewing the move as part of a wider crackdown on Muslim religious and educational institutions.
A student of Siraj-ul-Uloom standing at the main gate holding his discharge certificate, marking his final day at the institution after closure. / TRT WorldThe closure of one of India-administered Kashmir’s largest Islamic seminaries has left hundreds of students displaced, with families and critics viewing the move as part of a wider crackdown on Muslim religious and educational institutions.
For Danish Fayaz, watching his younger brother forcibly removed from Jamia Siraj-ul-Uloom — a prominent Islamic seminary in India-administered Kashmir — was one of the most painful moments of his life. The 26-year-old Pharmacist from Shopian district says the seminary has shaped his life and his brother Ashiq Fayaz’s upbringing.
“They gave him both an education and a grounding in prayer, discipline, respect and the Quran — values many Muslim families see as central to a child’s upbringing. What he learned there shaped the atmosphere in our home as well. ”by authorities in April under the Unlawful Activities Act , a controversial anti-terror law that grants authorities sweeping powers to designate individuals or organisations as linked to terrorism.
The order followed a police dossier alleging “sustained and covert links” between the seminary and the banned political party Jamaat-e-Islami , according to local media reports.was officially recognised by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education, the main authority overseeing secondary and higher secondary schooling in India-administered Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The closure comes amid a broader tightening of state control in the India-administered Kashmir since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governmentThe move stripped local authorities of powers over land, education and employment, placing greater control in the hands of New Delhi.
Since then, Kashmiri political and religious leaders have accused authorities of steadily narrowing civic and religious space in the Muslim-majority region.
“There may be hundreds of educational institutions in India, but I have never seen one like Siraj-ul-Uloom,” Danish says. Earlier this year, police began surveying and profiling mosques across Kashmir, fuelling concerns about expanding state surveillance. Srinagar’s historic Jamia Masjid — the region’s main congregational mosque — has also faced repeated closures and restrictions on prayers since 2019. TRT World.
Officials defended the measures as necessary to ensure the “normal functioning” of educational institutions and protect students’ interests. Critics, however, described them as part of a broader shrinking of independent religious and civic institutions in the India-administered Kashmir. Nizam-ud-din Bhat, a Member of the Legislative Assembly from the Bandipora area of India-administered Kashmir, says the government does not define terrorism solely as armed attacks carried out by militants.
US civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin dies aged 86US civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin dies aged 86They see certain ideas, beliefs, institutions, literature, religious spaces or political narratives as indirectly contributing to extremism, even if they are not involved in violence themselves, he says.
“The concern is whether executive actions like banning schools, literature or organisations leave meaningful space for review, accountability and constitutional safeguards. ”668 books from bookstores and distributors across India-administered Kashmir, alleging the publications promoted extremist ideology linked to banned organisations. Critics argued the raids reflected growing restrictions on political, religious and intellectual expression.
‘Not a proportionate response’ A lawyer at the Kashmir High Court in Srinagar, who requested anonymity, questioned both the timing and proportionality of the closures. “Authorities cannot shut Jamia Siraj-ul-Uloom in the middle of an academic session, as it directly affects students and parents, who are left without immediate alternatives,” he says. The lawyer noted that the seminary had operated as a registered institution for years without reported criminal incidents.
“A prior notice of 4–6 months should have been issued so that students could be shifted smoothly. By abruptly closing it, the rights of students and the institution have been affected.
“If a few individuals are alleged to be involved in wrongdoing, they must be dealt with individually,” he says. For families, however, the immediate crisis has been the sudden disruption to students’ lives. Abdul Rashid Sheikh, a parent whose son attended the seminary, says many schools were unwilling to admit displaced students because the academic year was already underway. TRT World.
On May 12, Nidash Ahmad, 14, an eighth-grader at the seminary, packed his books, blankets, and clothes into a trunk and left what he called his “second home”.
“I feel reluctant to leave these premises,” he says. “I loved studying here. The environment suited me perfectly and I had adapted completely to it. ”“Leaving my room, friends and teachers is heartbreaking right now,” Nidash says.
“This seminary transformed me into a disciplined learner and a better human being. It is a difficult time for us. ”US civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin dies aged 86US civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin dies aged 86Arsenal win Premier League title for 1st time in 22 years after Man City challenge fizzles outIsrael strikes southern Lebanon farmers with phosphorus munitions: report
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