Roza Bal

The Roza Bal or Rauza Bal or Rozabal is the name of a shrine located in the Khanyaar quarter in Downtown area of Srinagar in Kashmir. The word rauza means tomb, the word bal mean place. Locals believe a sage is buried here, Yuzasaf or Yuz Asaf, alongside another Muslim holy man, Mir Sayyid Naseeruddin.The shrine was relatively unknown until the founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, claimed in 1899 that it is actually the tomb of Jesus. This belief is shared by many Ahmadis today, though the local Sunni caretakers of the shrine believe that "the theory that Jesus is buried anywhere on the face of the earth is blasphemous to Islam."BuildingThe structure stands in front of a Muslim cemetery. It consists of a low rectangular building on a raised platform, surrounded by railings at the front and an entry. Within is a shrine to Youza Asouph. The building also houses the burial tomb of a Shia Muslim saint, Mir Sayyid Naseeruddin, a descendant of Imam Musa-Raza, 8th Imam of the Shias whose shrine is in Mashhad. The structure was previously maintained by the local community, but is now maintained by a board of directors consisting of Sunni Muslims. According to Fida Hassnain, a supporter of Ahmadi beliefs, the tomb contains a rock carving that is said to show feet bearing crucifixion wounds and the body is buried according to what Hassnain considers are the Jewish tradition of directions and not according to the Islamic tradition. The Sunni Muslim authorities at the shrine believe Youza Asouph and Mir Sayyid Naseeruddin to be Muslim holy men.