Srinagar, May 23 -- Nusrat stood near a walnut-wood pillar inside Khanqah-e-Moula, her fingers moving slowly over a worn rosary as hundreds of worshippers pressed through the shrine on the banks of the Jhelum River. She remained near that same spot for hours.

Incense smoke hung beneath the sanctum's sloping ceilings while men recited verses near the entrance. Women sat shoulder to shoulder along the carved interiors, as loudspeakers broadcast collective prayers into the old quarters of Srinagar.

A faded grey shawl covered Nusrat's head, and her eyes stayed closed through long stretches. Words escaped her lips in fragments of whispered supplication as several women sat behind her in silence, following her lead.

"This day belongs to him,...