Azerbaijani Muslims mark Ashura Day amid COVID-19 restrictions

Today, Ashura, a day of mourning for Shia Muslims, has been marked in Azerbaijan amid restrictions imposed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

No more than 50 people are allowed to stay at the same time in mosques and on the territory of sanctuaries. Meanwhile, only those believers who have certificates confirming vaccination or the presence of antibodies to coronavirus can go inside, the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent has been informed at the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan.

In the morning, additional police squads were posted outside mosques and sanctuaries to monitor compliance with sanitary standards.

Nevertheless, small groups of believers marched to mosques and sanctuaries. They were holding in their hands the flags of Azerbaijan and black banners as a sign of mourning, as well as portraits of soldiers killed in 2020 in the Karabakh war. When they approached the mosques, they sang marsiye (mourning songs), religious poems, with striking themselves in the chest with their palms (an alternative to the ritual of self-flagellation, – note of the “Caucasian Knot”). Some believers succeeded in taking turns to enter the mosque, while others left the place after a while because of the hot weather, the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent reported.

Arzu Abdullah, a member of the Public Committee for the Protection of Rights of Islamists, complained that in the Baku suburban village of Mashtaga, the police did not let believers visit the Martyrs’ Lane. “The police stood at the gates of the alley and simply did not let people in. This is an absolutely incomprehensible restriction. The authorities allow holding crowded wedding parties, celebrations in restaurants, mass gatherings of people on the beaches. At the same time, no more than 50 people are allowed to gather in mosques. Where is the logic? This is discrimination against believers,” Arzu Abdullah told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent. She also added that no incidents occurred despite the strict restrictions.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 19, 2021 at 01:59 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.