Dubious Jesus 'tomb' in Kashmir closed to visitors

A Muslim shrine in Kashmir that attracted many western tourists after it was claimed to be the tomb of Jesus Christ is now closed to outsiders.

Rozabal shrine of Sufi saint Yuz Asaf at Srinagar in Kashmir has banned visitors from entering the sanctum sanctorum due to some believers wanting to exhume the remains to get a DNA done.

"Some Christians from the West claim it is the grave of Jesus and they had approached us with a request to exhume the remains for carbon dating and DNA testing. But we refused," Mohammad Amin Ringshawl, the shrine's caretaker, told Reuters.

"By claiming Rozabal is Jesus' tomb the foreigners are hurting Muslim sentiments, so to avoid any trouble we have locked the sanctum sanctorum."

The shrine first came into limelight when a local journalist Aziz Kashmiri argued in his 1973 book 'Christ in Kashmir' that Jesus survived crucifixion, migrated to Kashmir and was buried in Srinagar.

In his book, Aziz Kashmiri writes, "Kashmiri history books tell us that Yus Asaf came from abroad. He was a prophet and a messenger. He came from Israel. He came to spread his teachings. He lived and died here. Yus Asaf was Issa. He was Jesus."

"The meaning of Yus Asaf is, The Healer. Another meaning is The Shepherd the one who teaches others. Our history confirms that Issa was known as Yus Assaf, here in Kashmir."

Prior to this, Russian anthropologist Nicholas Notovic in his 'Unknown Life of Jesus Christ' claimed he had seen documents describing Jesus's years from 12 to 30 BCE in India.

Incidentally, the shrine had a mention in The Lonely Planet, a worldwide guide for travellers.

According to local Muslims, the Rozabal shrine is the final resting place of two famous Muslim saints Youza Asaf and Syed Naseer-ud-Din who came to Srinagar centuries ago