JNN 26 Nov 2012 Cairo : Egypt’s police barred a number of Muslim Shias from entering Al-Hussein Mosque in Cairo to commemmorate Ashura, Satruday. Police stopped a number of Egyptian Shias from entering the Hussein mosque in Cairo Saturday afternoon, to celebrate the day of Ashura, state-run newspaper Al-Ahram said on its website.

On Ashura, Muslims commemorate the Martyrdom of Imam Hussein a.s, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad by Yazid’s army.

A force from the Gamaliya Police Department was stationed on Friday in front of the main door of the mosque to inspect worshipers before prayers, and security forces prevented a number of Shias from entering and ordered them to perform afternoon prayers at other mosques nearby. Mosque management also closed the Imam Hussein shrine.

The move came after Walid Ismail, chairman of a Salafi / Wahabi group, filed a complaint with the police demanding they prevent any Shia rituals inside the mosque honoring the martyrdom of Hussein.

Ismail was among the group of Salafis who prevented the Group of Shia Men from entering the mosque. Abdullah claimed that Ismail was protected by the police and verbally insulted him.

Ismail denied this, instead saying, “I stood with a couple of colleagues to prevent them from practicing their well-known traditions of slapping their faces and cutting their clothes, but other Shi’as were allowed in.”

“This is strong evidence for the decline of Egypt’s secular identity,” said Bahaa Anwar, the spokesperson for Shi’a in Egypt, stating that it was not the first time that Shi’a in Egypt were exposed to discrimination.

The Endowments Ministry said it supported the minister’s decision to prevent celebrations inside mosques, and Al-Azhar issued a statement warning against celebrations on Ashura. It added that the day was for fasting and worship, and it stressed Egypt’s Sunni identify and condemned what it described as “heretical” practices in celebrating Ashura.

Ashura is the day where Muslims mourns the Martyrdom of Imam Hussein a.s and His family and friends , the grandson of the Prophet Mohamed who was killed in 680 AD in Karbala, Iraq, by the armies of the caliph Yazid. The day is particularly significant for Shia Muslims, who gather in large numbers and sometimes beat their chest as a sign of mourning in honor of Imam Hussein a.s.