MESOPOTAMIA NEWS : IRANIAN SUFI’S & COVID 19 IN KURDISTAN – IRAQ

Hundreds of Iranian Sufis cross into Iraqi Kurdistan without coronavirus testing

MESOP  9 July 2020 – Hundreds of Sufi dervishes from Iran breached security at an Iraqi Kurdistan Region border crossing without being tested for coronavirus, determined to attend the funeral of an order leader in Sulaimani city, July 9, 2020.

PENJWIN, Iraqi Kurdistan,—

Hundreds of Sufi dervishes from Iran breached security at an Iraqi Kurdistan Region border crossing on Thursday without being tested for coronavirus, determined to attend the funeral of an order leader, according to a border security chief.

Security forces at the Bashmakh border crossing, close to the city of Penjwin, were unable to hold back the crowd of dervishes from the Qadiriyya religious order en route to Sulaimani for the funeral of Sheikh Mohammad al-Kasnazani.

“Among the dervishes, there are Kurdish, Turkish, and [Iranian] nationals,” manager of the Bashmax border crossing’s relations department Mukhtar Ali told NRT TV.

In forcing their way into the Kurdistan Region, the crowd caused significant damage to the border crossing’s infrastructure and four dervishes were wounded by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“None of those dervishes and Murids [Sufi novices] who crossed the border crossing were tested [for coronavirus] and all of them have violated the law,” Ali added.

“[Hundreds of] darvish followers who wanted to attend the funeral of Sheikh Mohammad al-Kasnazani stormed a security checkpoint at the border gate with swords, knives and daggers,” Major Gen. Mariwan Sheikh Kamal, in charge of the crossing told Rudaw.

Kasnazani, 82, died of natural causes in the United States last week. He had been living in Jordan, but regularly traveled to the Kurdistan Region. A family member told Rudaw that his body will be repatriated to Sulaimani on Friday.

A large number of dervishes accompanied by daf drum percussion crossing the border.

Kamal said the dervishes crossed the border in flagrance of travel regulations, holding “no travel documents” and making their journey at a time when the KRG has imposed cross-border travel restrictions on non-commercial traffic because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Iran continues to be a regional epicenter for the outbreak. Iraq’s first recorded cases of the virus were people who had returned from trips to Iran.

“They should have been prevented from crossing on the Iranian side and not permitted to enter Kurdistan Region land,” Kamal added.

Sheikh Saman Marif Barzinji, one of Kasnazani’s sons, told Rudaw that “we cannot stop people from coming to attend the funeral” – but said that in view of the pandemic, “no formal wakes” would be organised for his late father.

The Qadiriyya order of Sufism has congregational sites in 92 countries, including China and the US, Barzinji added, with the majority of its followers coming from India and Iran.

Mosques are currently closed and the government has prohibited public funerals because of the risk that the virus will spread quickly among mourners. A funeral in Erbil earlier this spring caused approximately 100 people to contract the virus.

On Tuesday, Iraqi Kurdistan Region recorded its highest one-day total with 495 new infections.

Nearly 300 people have died.

Iran is the hardest hit country in the Middle East, passing 250,000 total cases on Thursday and recording a record number of deaths over the past 24-hours with 221.