Procession in the Wenzelgasse Shi'ites walk through Bonn on funeral march
Bonn · Shi'ite Muslims gathered in the Wenzelgasse in Bonn for a funeral march. With this procession the worshippers commemorate the killing of the fourth Caliph Ali.
Several hundred black-dressed Shi'ites gathered in the Wenzelgasse on Sunday afternoon for a funeral march through Bonn’s pedestrian zone. With this procession - called „Matni juloos“ - the worshippers commemorate the killing of the fourth Caliph Ali, son-in-law of the prophet Mohammed. In front of a shop, the mostly Indian and Pakistani barefoot men sat on blankets and listened to a preacher. Later they walked through the street and hit themselves on the breast. Castigations as performed in the past were supposed to be avoided this time.
As Samina Haider, the mother of the organiser, explained, many guests travelled to the march from France, Spain, Denmark, the Benelux countries and even the USA - whole coachloads came from Italy. There aren’t many similar events in Europe, Haider said.
(Original text: Martin Wein / Translation: Mareike Graepel)
