UK court bans self-flagellation by mourners

LONDON: The issue of Zanjeerzani (self-flagellation) in Britain has entered into uncharted waters after High Court’s Queen Bench Division issued injunction against two British Pakistanis restraining them from entering or practicing Zanjeerzani at the Idara-e-Jaaferiya here in Tooting, Europe’s oldest Imambargah.
The court made 20 British Pakistanis to sign an undertaking agreeing not to perform or encourage Zanjeer in or around the Idara premises.
The 22 individuals were taken to the court by the trustees of the Idara-e-Jaaferiya after a prolonged and bitter dispute of the Idara with hundreds of Shia Muslim mourners who have wished to practice Zanjeer within the premises of the Idara.
The High Court has told these individuals they face “contempt of court and may be imprisoned, fined or have their assets seized” if they breached the court injunction or the undertaking.
The dispute between the community members and Idara started over the performance of Zanjeerzani which has been banned by the trustees in the mosque for “health and safety reasons because the practice involves blades, which cuts and can spill blood”.
Mohammad Raza, President of the Idara, told The News that the Idara’s insurance provider has insisted that the mosque is not covered for Zanjeerzani and that the Idara would lose both the employers’ liability and public liability insurance should any person practise it inside or in the vicinity of the mosque and it was in the Idara’s and the community’s “best interests to prohibit the performance of Zanjeerzani”.
He alleged that the banned individuals have engaged in “violent and disruptive tactics to perform and encourage Zanjeerzani in the Idara despite the ban”. He said that these individuals on 14 November 2013 (10 Muharram) without warning began to perform Zanjeerzani in the prayer space. “The carpets, curtains and walls were contaminated and thus needed to be cleaned using industrial methods in accordance with the Council’s strict guidelines.”
He said that an application for court orders to be brought against 22 people was made because these individuals have been “persistently flouting” ban on the practice of zanjeerzani and have been encouraging others to flout the ban as well.
When asked why the current committee felt the need to ban Zanjeerzani when it has been practiced for decades in the Idara without any issue, Raza said that the Idara was following the “UK law and the council’s policy guidance”. Zanjeerzani has been practiced at the Idara since it’s inception in the early 1970’s, originally being conducted in a basement room of one of founders’ homes alongside majaalis when the Idara-e-Jaaferiya was originally started in 1968.
Speaking on behalf of the affected community members, Sharaz Mir told The News that the ban brought by the Idara was an attack on the beliefs of millions of those who believe in Zanjeerzani as part of their faith. He said the new Idara committee members “have tried to impose a differing ideology to that of the rest of the community”.
He said: “There are roumours of converting the Idara into a faith school, selling the building for financial gain, the list goes on, but what is clear is that their differing school of thought mainly revolves around Azadari, namely ZanjeerZani. They have banned Zanjeer in the Idara under the illegitimate guise of Health & Safety and non-compliant Insurance. They have fragrantly and openly disagreed with the Head of Ulema Shia Europe and the respected Marja’s advice not to ban Azadari and take individuals to court to avoid Fitna within the community.
He said that the Idara has the backing of an organization that has allegedly mocked Zanjeerzani, calling it a “barbaric act”, equating this form of Azadari to smoking drugs, and calling the Zanjeer a “weapon”. He said that the 22 individuals who have agreed to the courts undertaking will limit their Azadaari to exclude Zanjeerzani without compromise but there was no guarantee about those who have no court orders on them.