SRINAGAR, Feb 21 (Alliance News): Indian police in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) have raided dozens of bookstores, seizing hundreds of copies of books by Islamic scholar Abul Ala Maududi.
The crackdown has drawn sharp criticism from Muslim leaders and scholars, who condemned it as an attack on religious freedom.
Police claimed the raids were based on “credible intelligence” regarding the sale of literature linked to a banned organization, Jamaat-e-Islami, which was outlawed by India in 2019.
However, critics argue that the move is part of a broader effort to suppress dissent and Islamic teachings in the disputed region.
Umar Farooq, IIOJK’s chief cleric, denounced the seizures, calling them “absurd” in an era of unrestricted online access to information.
Residents of IIOJK say such actions further curtail civil liberties, which have been under increased pressure since India revoked the region’s special status in 2019.
