TEHRAN – Hojjatoleslam Kazem Seddiqi, the interim Friday prayer leader of Tehran, has censured the so-called advocates of human rights for keeping silence over the oppression of Muslims throughout the world, especially the Kashmiri people.

It came after Kashmiri protestors held a demonstration with torches in the Soura neighborhood of Srinagar, shouting anti-Indian and pro-freedom slogans.

The disputed Himalayan territory has been jolted by fresh unrest since early August, when New Delhi announced it would end the decades-old constitutional guarantee of the half of Kashmir it controls.

Kashmir has been split between India and Pakistan since 1947 and since then the two nuclear-armed neighbors have fought two wars over the region.

In his Friday sermon, Seddiqi also pointed to the oppression of Nigeria, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia’s Shia communities by the regimes of those countries and prayed for their success in overcoming the oppression.

In remarks last month, Seddiqi said the issue of Kashmir is one of the tragedies of the Muslim world.

He said the Indian government was expected to abide by international law.  

“Their action is contrary to human conscience, fairness and even the domestic laws of that country,” the cleric remarked.

The cleric further advised India to reconsider their decision and “know that oppression would not end [well].”

MH/PA