Boys 'flogged' in muslim ritual

A man whipped himself until he bled during a Muslim religious ceremony before allegedly forcing two boys to do the same, a court has heard.

Manchester Crown Court was played a film which showed Syed Mustafa Zaidi, 44, beating himself with a zanjeer zani - a whip made of knives and chains.
Mr Zaidi is accused of child cruelty for making two teenagers take part in the Shia Ashura ritual in Manchester.

It is the first case of its kind ever to be prosecuted in the UK.

The incident took place at a community centre in Levenshulme, in January.

Mr Zaidi, of Station Road in Eccles, Salford, was seen in the 20-minute video bare-chested among a crowd of about 150 men chanting and singing before he whipped himself.
The court heard it was a ritual some Shia Muslim men took part in, in memory of the suffering of Imam Ali Hussein, the grandson of Muhammad, who fought against tyrannical rule and was beheaded.

It is deemed acceptable for adult men to take part in self-flagellation but the police say is it illegal for children.
But some members of the Shia Muslim community say they will not discourage a child if he wants to participate.

In it Zaidi is seen repeatedly flailing at his own body with the multi-bladed instrument. His back is soon reduced to a mass of cuts, with blood running down onto his jeans.
At one point he is taken out of the throng because of concerns about the injuries he had inflicted upon himself.

Minutes later, his back now covered by a white T shirt, he is apparently seen to approach the younger of his alleged victims.
The child joins men in the centre of the room and begins to ritually beat himself with the Zanjeer.
Elsewhere in the video men - and some boys - are seen beating their chests so violently with their hands that they inflict bright red marks.
At set times in the ceremony some of the men break into a chant before swinging their individual Zanjeers in order to gouge wounds into their backs.
They occasionally withdraw to have dressings applied to the cuts. At other points helpers spray the devotees with antiseptic.

By the time the ceremony is over one man, his back bloodied, is slumped against a black drape. Others are weeping and wailing as the fervour of the ceremony rises to a crescendo.
Andrew Nuttall, prosecuting, told the jury of five men and seven women that the use of a Zanjeer was "not essential or necessarily expected" in the Shia community.
Men were free to use it if they felt it would help them "bring out feelings of bereavement and grief" over the martyrdom of the Holy Prophet Husayn and 72 members of his family in the 7th century.
In some Muslim countries boys are allowed to use a smaller version of the Zanjeer, he claimed.
However, two days before the ceremony in Levenshulme the Shia community's president had told his congregation that no one under 16 should participate. Zaidi was said to be present to hear that advice.

The court heard that once the ceremony was under way Zaidi struck himself so forcefully with the Zanjeer that other devotees "feared for his safety to such an extent that they sought to calm him down".
The older of the two alleged victims was among those who approached him. Zaidi is said to have responded by washing his Zanjeer and handing it to the boy so he could use it.
According to the prosecution, the child "felt he had no choice but to do so". He was pulled away after inflicting a number of lacerations to his back. Zaidi then allegedly turned to the other boy, took off his top and put the Zanjeer in his hand.

The case continues.