The Charar-e-Sharief Shrine (also spelled Charar-i-Sharief, Charari Sharief, Chrari-Sharif, etc.) is a

Sufi shrine A Sufi shrine or dargah ( ''dargâh'' or ''dargah'', Turkish: ''dergâh'', Hindustani: ''dargāh'' दरगाह درگاہ, ''dôrgah'') is a shrine or tomb built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint or dervis ...

and

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

situated in the town of

Charari Sharief Charari Sharief (also spelled Charar-i-Sharief; , known as Tsrar-i-Sharif ( or ) in Kashmiri is a town and a notified area committee in the Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The Assembly constituency is one of the 90 constitue ...

in the

Budgam district Budgam district is an administrative district of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kash ...

, in the union territory of

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is one of the oldest and sacrosanct shrines of Indian Muslims, including

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the Vale of Kashmir, is an intermontane valley in northern Jammu and Kashmir, a region in Indian-administered Kashmir.(a) (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcont ...

dedicated to a

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, the language of the Kashmiris ethnic group People with the nam ...

Sufi saint The term ''wali'' is most commonly used by Muslims to refer to a saint, or literally a "friend of God in Islam, God".John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press ...

Nund Rishi Nund Rishi ( c. 1377 – c. 1438; born Noor-ud-Din) was a Kashmiri Sufi saint, mystic, poet and Islamic preacher. Nund Rishi was among the founders of the Rishi order, a Sufi tradition of the region, and is also known by the titles ''Sheikh- ...

. The shire and mosque were built in 1460 to pay homage to Nund Rishi. It has religious significance in the cultural heritage of Kashmir and is considered a holy site for Muslims. but is also visited by

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

. After the Sufi shrine was gutted by a fire in 1995, it was rebuilt. The 1995 incident was related to the escape of Pakistan-based terrorist Mast Gul. Local people accused the

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

of not taking measures to prevent incidences of fire.

History

After the death of

around 1438, he was buried in

. In 1446, the eighth

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

of the valley,

Zain-ul-Abidin Zayn al-Abidin may also refer to: * Ali al-Sajjad, also known by as Zayn al-Abidin, was the fourth imam in Shia Islam * Zayn al-Abidin the Great (1395–1470), ninth sultan of Kashmir who ruled from 1418 to 1419 and then from 1420 to 1470 * Zainu ...

, laid the foundation stone of the Charar-e-Sharief shrine at the burial site. Over the time, the shrine was partially damaged. Later,

Yakub Shah Chak Ya'qūb (Yākūb) Shāh Chak (Persian: یعقوب شاہ چک) was the sixth and the last Chak Sultan of Kashmir Sultanate, who reigned from 1586 to 1589. Yakub succeeded his father Yousuf Shah Chak, under warlike conditions, after Kashmir w ...

repaired the damaged parts. During the 19th century, an

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

governor named Atta Mohammad Khan, reconstructed the shrine. The shrine compound was engineered when

Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad (20 July 190715 July 1972) was an Indian politician who served as the prime minister of Jammu and Kashmir from 1953 to 1964. Bakshi was a founding member of the National Conference and rose to be the second in command t ...

was serving as the prime minister of the state. In 1979, the

Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary source ...

installed an epigraphic stone at the

mazar Mazar of Al-Mazar may refer to: *Mazar (mausoleum), Muslim mausoleum or shrine Places * Mazar (toponymy), a component of Arabic toponyms literally meaning shrine, grave, tomb, etc. ; Afghanistan * Mazar, Afghanistan, village in Balkh Province * ...

(

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

) of Nund Rishi.

Desecration

On 11 May 1995,

Hizbul Mujahideen Hizbul Mujahideen, also spelled Hizb-ul-Mujahidin (, ), is a Pakistan-based Islamist separatist militant organisation that has been engaged in the Kashmir insurgency since 1989. It aims to separate Kashmir from India and merge it with Pakist ...

militants took shelter inside the shrine when they and Indian security forces were in direct combat. The battle evacuated more than 25,000 people from the encounter site and they took shelter in neighboring villages, "fearing that they would be caught in a battle". Initial reports cited 1,000 houses damaged and another 200 stores destroyed. Indian security forces didn't allow journalists to enter the affected area. The battle left thirty militants and fifteen security personnel dead during a heavy fire exchange. The gunfight also reportedly left a 65-year-old civilian dead. The ''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

'' falsely reported the shrine had been stormed by the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

and retracted the claim only after being strongly criticised. In 2001, unknown attackers carried out a terrorist attack on the women devotees during a

Friday prayer Friday prayer, or congregational prayer (), is the meeting together of Muslims for communal prayer and service at midday every Friday. In Islam, the day itself is called ''Yawm al-Jum'ah'' (shortened to ''Jum'ah''), which translated from Arabic me ...

that left four fatalities with fifty others wounded. In 2015, unknown attackers hurled a

grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

at the mosque; ten devotees were wounded.

References

External links

{{Mosques in India 15th-century mosques in India 20th-century attacks on mosques 21st-century attacks on mosques Attacks on mosques in India Budgam district Buildings and structures completed in 1460 Dargahs in Jammu and Kashmir Mosques completed in the 1460s Mosques in Jammu and Kashmir Sufi shrines in India

History

Desecration

See also

References

External links