Srinagar, March 7 -- First, a few words on the structural features and nature of Jamia Masjid.

An imposing structure in the heart of downtown Srinagar, our Grand Mosque dates back to almost seven centuries. The structural features of the Mosque are Persian in nature, with many turrets jutting outward toward the sky, a courtyard with a quasi- pond in the midst and spacious oblongish rectangular halls for prayers. Massive wooden columns support the top of the Mosque and connect these with the prayer halls. It appears that the locus of Downtown's life revolved around the Grand Mosque of Kashmir. Another feature of the Mosque is the institution of the Mirwaiz - a term of probable Perso-Arabic provenance that can be loosely translated as 'Mas...