The APHC chairman, addressing a gathering of mourners near the gutted shrine of Dastgeer Sahib at Khaniyar in Srinagar, rejected the offer of Indian Home Minister Chidambaram for lending help in the construction of the shrine, Kashmir Media Service (KMS) reported.
"The Indian government should stay away from playing politics over the shrine incident as Kashmiri people have enough courage, strength and magnanimity to re-build the shrine without taking aid from the outside,” he said.
The Mirwaiz said that the shrine burning incident was highly regrettable and heart-rending. "It is a personal loss to me and my nation. I have no words to explain how distressful it is to see the burnt remains of the once magnificent historical structure of the revered shrine," he added.
The APHC chairman also reiterated that only an independent and impartial probe headed by Sajada Nasheen would bring the real facts regarding the mysterious incident before the people.
He said that a probe committee should be formed and headed by Sajada Nasheen that should include members from civil society and noted ulema.
The Mirwaiz appealed to the people to remain united in these testing times and foil the nefarious designs of miscreants who were hell bent to break the social fabric of the occupied territory.
COMMENTS (18)
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A Home minister offering help to rebuild the shrine is called "Playing politics". The Mirwaiz is out of his mind. Enough of appeasing these monsters. Just putting them to their place will be good.
@kaalchakra: Come back when you are out of the effect of dope.
Mirwaiz should stop playing politics on shrine. He is the one who mixes politics with religion.
@kaalchakra I deplore the act of Hindu Indian extremists to destroy the invaluable cultural and religious legacy of occupied and oppressed Kashmiri people.
Is LeT converting to Hinduism now?
@Bau Ji: Look no further just read this Al Qaeda linked group destroys Timbuktu shrines. Happy
@Bau Ji: " ... Hindu terrorists secretly supported by the Hindu Regime are responsible for this disaster. ... "
While you are at it, do not forget to credit us for the mayhem we have caused inside Pakistan.
I deplore the act of Hindu Indian extremists to destroy the invaluable cultural and religious legacy of occupied and oppressed Kashmiri people.
@Waziristani:
"In Kashmir, Hindu extremists may be responsible for the destruction of the shrine."
There is no past history of Hindus extremists or otherwise destroying active Sufi mosques. However, it happens with regular frequency in Pakistan. So, do you say that Hindu extremists are doing this in Pakistan?
If you are honest, you very well know that the fundamentalist Deobandi sunni islamists, that the Hurriet is part of, has declared open war against sufi and Shia places of worship in Pakistan. So, the clear culprits are the Hurriet extremists and their leader Mirwaiz.
@The Truth: The answer to your question on wht is the value of rebuilding shrine is in this paragraph.
"Religion is the opium of the people" is one of the most frequently paraphrased statements of Karl Marx. It was translated from the German original, "Die Religion ... ist das Opium des Volkes" and is often referred to as "religion is the opiate of the masses." The quotation originates from the introduction of his 1843 work Contribution to Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right which was subsequently released one year later in Marx's own journal Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher, a collaboration with Arnold Ruge. The phrase "This opium you feed your people" appeared in 1797 in Marquis de Sade's text L'Histoire de Juliette and Novalis's "[R]eligion acts merely as an opiate" around the same time. The full quote from Karl Marx is as follows: "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people".
Can someone tell me why to rebuild the shrine in first place??? what value shrines bring to society and religion. The money could be better spend on the needs of poor people..
@Bau Ji
Where do you get Hindu extremists when there are no hindus left in Kashmir???
The same kind of people who are destroying Ahmedi mosques, bombing shia mosques in Pakistan are probably responsible for burning this sufi shrine
Hurriyat got a nice opportunity to create unrest in Kashmir after 2 million tourists are expected to visit the valley this year.
@Bau Ji: In Kashmir, Hindu extremists may be responsible for the destruction of the shrine. Extremists and terrorists associated with any religion is deplorable. Those who destroyed the relics of Budha in Bamyan, Afghanistan is also deplorable. But we failed to criticize/condemn the Taliban. It is need of the hour to think as Human Being.
Look no beyond then the HINDU STATE TERRORISTS & HINDU TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS such as RSS. Hindu terrorists secretly supported by the Hindu Regime are responsible for this disaster.
As long as Kashmir remains peaceful, the APHC remains unemployed - any such excuse to up the ante is therefore welcome. Let them conduct their probe independently. India does not run on the whims of the Hurriyat - but as it was a very ancient heritage location, we need to find out how this has happened. As a secular nation, we should also not be making offers to rebuild shrines of any single denomination.
kettle calling a pot black. On serious note the incident in this shrine should be looked at as a bigger picture otherwise important point will be missed. If one looks at attack on various shrine across Pakistan (long list and practically in each province) in last few yeras clearly points to a trend. The trend is to destroy sufi shrines. Is this part of attack on Shia, Hazaras and Ahmaedis? may be? If one agrees that Sufism is under attck than the incident in Kashmir is tip of the iceberg and more attacks are bound to happen. In this case friends of Sufism should get together both side of the border and share intelligence and establisn community relations, neighbourhood watch to keep an ey e on suspecious people and foil damage to these historic sites, tradition and future communal fights