ISLAMIC WATCH:Thousands march in Indian Kashmir to honor leader

SRINAGAR, India-Tens of thousands of Muslims marched in Indian Kashmir on Saturday to pay homage to a separatist leader killed by police in violent protests over a land row that is testing New Delhi's hold on the troubled region.Sheikh Aziz, a senior Kashmiri separatist leader, was among at least 22 Muslim protesters killed when police opened fire this week during some of the biggest protests since a separatist revolt broke out in the region 20 years ago.On Saturday, protesters carrying black and green Islamic flags headed to Pampore, Aziz's hometown. Aziz was a leader of Kashmir's main separatist alliance, the All Parties Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference."There is no god but Allah, Indian forces go back,"the protesters shouted.The row pits Muslims in Kashmir against Hindus in Jammu-the two main regions which make up the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir-in one of the hardest challenges facing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government since it took office in 2004.A dispute over land allocated to Hindu pilgrims visiting a shrine in Kashmir has snowballed into full scale anti-India protests, uniting separatists and reviving calls for Kashmiri independence.The crisis has also raised tensions with nuclear rival Pakistan. India has criticized Islamabad for interfering in its internal affairs by calling for U.N. intervention in the region that both claim in full but rule in parts.The crisis in Indian Kashmir began after the state government promised to give forest land to a trust that runs Amarnath, a cave shrine visited by Hindu pilgrims. Many Muslims were enraged.
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