Rakib Altaf
SRINAGAR, Sept 20: Authorities in Muslim-majority Kashmir have ordered schools and colleges to observe a holiday on Friday to preempt any mishap should there be violent protests over the US-made anti-Islam film denouncing the Prophet Muhammad.
“We have apprehensions about the law and order situation in the valley tomorrow. So we have ordered all government and private schools to close down for a day,” Director of school education, Muhammad Shafi Rather said.
On Tuesday, when the valley observed a strike in protest against the video, students of the Kashmir university had to face risks while travelling through the stone-pelting prone area of old city, just to take their examinations. At many places windshields of vehicles ferrying students were smashed by angry youth.
Rather said the decision to close schools on Friday was taken as a precautionary measure to prevent any “untoward incident”.
All government degree colleges of Kashmir shall also remain closed, an official spokesperson said in a statement.
Violent protests erupted across the Muslim world after a trailer of an amateurish film titled ‘Innocence of Muslims’, appeared on the Internet last week. The movie showed the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad, in poor light.
However, barring a few incidents, the protests in the valley since Friday last have been largely peaceful: quite unlike the past in this scenic Himalayan region which is known to erupt over any act of blasphemy or sacrilege in any corner of the world.
At least 14 people died in the valley in September 2010 after police or paramilitaries fired at protesters who were angry about reports of desecration of the Quran by a pastor in the United States.
On Fridays, Kashmir’s mosques and shrines witness mammoth gatherings as people offer prayers in congregations. Authorities will be extra cautious after the prayers end, fearing protests could take a violent turn and disrupt peace in the volatile region, where a 23-year-old armed conflict is declining.
Jammu and Kashmir’s cabinet, which last met on Wednesday, said it condemned the movie unanimously. Chief minister Omar Abdullah also said he was in touch with New Delhi to bring the “perpetrators of the act to justice”.
He also appealed to people to maintain calm.
On Sunday, the union ministry of Information and broadcasting said Google India had blocked the content after requests by the state government.
