Srinagar: The death of Sheikh Ghulam Hassan, the former chief of the Jamaat-e-Islami and a prominent Islamic scholar of Jammu and Kashmir last week cast a wide spotlight on the deepening fault lines within the proscribed organisation.Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti who visited the bereaved family on Tuesday (May 19) to offer condolences urged the administration to withdraw an FIR that has been reportedly filed by police in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district allegedly in connection with the slogans raised during Hassan’s funeral.The Wire has reached out to the senior superintendent of Kulgam police Anayat Ali Chowdhary for details about the FIR. This story would be updated when a response is received.A resident of Tarigam village in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, Hassan, who served twice as the ameer (chief) of Jamaat passed away on Saturday, May 16, after a prolonged illness.Witnesses said that thousands of people including young and elderly men attended the funeral prayers which were held on Saturday afternoon following which the deceased’s coffin was shouldered in a massive procession and taken to a graveyard in Kulgam for burial.Ahead of the funeral prayers, mourners assembled in the lawn of a local mosque along with the coffin during which some speeches were made about on Hassan’s contributions to J&K and the ongoing crackdown launched by the Union government on the organisation banned since 2019.“We have not indulged in any sellout,” one of the elderly speakers who described himself as “father of two martyrs” told the crowd.“Those associated with the Jamaat have held their ground. We don’t need jobs. Even if we are surrounded by thousands of concerns and fears and threats of jail, and even if our children are jailed, we will not bow. One of my sons was a pharmacist and another was a PhD scholar. I am proud of them,” he said.The Bhartiya Janta Party-led Union government launched a massive crackdown on the organisation with dozens of its leaders and activists continuing to languish in jails while some properties linked to the Jamaat have also been seized.According to reports, indirect slogans were also raised during the funeral ceremony against the Justice and Development Front (JDF) and its office-bearers.The JDF is a splinter group of the Jamaat which joined the polling fray in the 2024 assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.The JDF which registered as a political party in 2025 is widely believed to have the backing of the BJP-led Union government. It got the recognition of the Election Commission of India in January this year.Addressing the gathering, Faheem Mohammad Ramzan, a Jamaat leader, mocked the JDF for pursuing “cheap political interests”, ”What Sheikh saheb (the deceased) has left behind is our real and rich legacy and we are committed to take it to its logical end,” he said.After the speech ceremony was over, the coffin was taken in a massive procession to a local graveyard where Hassan was laid to rest.“Zinda hai, zinda hai, Jamaat zinda hai; Zinda hai, zinda hai, jailun mein zinda hai; Zinda hai, zinda hai, tehreek zinda hai (Jamaat is alive; It is alive in jails; The movement is alive),” some of the mourners shouted as the procession moved towards the graveyard.The death of Hassan has been widely mourned in Kashmir with senior National Conference leader and J&K minister Sakina Itoo visiting the family on Saturday, along with other party leaders to express sympathy with the bereaved family.Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party leader Altaf Bukhari also condoled the demise of the “widely respected leader” while a statement issued by the party noted the “significant standing of the deceased” and his “dedication” towards J&K.Speaking with reporters after meeting the bereaved family on Tuesday, the PDP chief Mufti said that some people raised emotional slogans while some speeches were made ahead of Hassan’s funeral.“Maybe these speeches and slogans were not to our liking but there was nothing against the country or anti-nationalistic in them. I have heard many people have been booked in an FIR. It is wrong and I regret this action,” she said.Referring to the recent statement of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Dattatreya Hosabale’s call for dialogue with Pakistan, Mufti said that the Jamaat has also positively contributed to Jammu and Kashmir.The organisation was banned by the Union government under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in 2019 ahead of the reading down of Article 370.“Today when one of its leaders has died, an FIR has been filed against his followers and admirers. We are talking about resuming dialogue with Pakistan on one hand but we are treating our own people in this way. I request the Union territory government and the LG administration to stop this witch-hunt,” Mufti said.