LONDON // A devout Muslim is facing a possible jail sentence after being found guilty of child cruelty by making his two teenage sons flog themselves during a Shia religious ceremony. In the first case of its kind in the UK, which brought a centuries-old Muslim practice into direct conflict with British law, Syed Mustafa Zaidi, 44, was found guilty of two counts of child cruelty by forcing the boys to self-flagellate with a bladed whip during the Ashura ceremony earlier this year. Zaidi, who originally came from Pakistan but now lives in Eccles, Manchester, denied any wrongdoing during the trial saying: "This is a part of our religion." However, the jury found him guilty of cruelty towards his sons, then aged 13 and 15, and he faces the possibility of a prison sentence when he returns to court for sentencing in a month's time. The two boys said during the trial they had not wanted to beat themselves during the ceremony, a video of which was shown to the jury, but not with the zanjeer, a five-bladed whip that inflicted severe lacerations on their backs. Both boys said that, since the age of six, they had been flogging themselves with a smaller whip during Ashura ceremonies to commemorate the martyrdom of the Prophet's grandson, Husayn. They said that their father had used the zanjeer on himself before ordering his sons to use it this year. The younger boy told the court that his father had wiped blood from the whip and handed it to his brother, telling him: "Start doing it, start doing it." But the boy told the jury: "We said: 'We don't want to do it'." However, Zaidi, who divorced the boys' mother earlier this year, said that he only asked his sons if they wanted to whip themselves and had then allowed them to use the bladed whip. He told the court: "It was an emotional time, and the children were happy. They asked for it. No one forced anyone. If I'd known that the result of this would be the breaking the law, I would never have done it." After the verdict, Supt Nadeem Butt, of Greater Manchester police, said: "This man not only abused the vulnerability of these children but also went against the wishes of his own community, as well as knowingly breaking the law. The sensitivities this case raises ? both legal and cultural ? are significant." Safdar Zia, general secretary of the Jaffria Islamic Centre in Manchester, said the case had served to focus the Shiite community's attention on child cruelty laws. "We cannot eliminate this practice," he said. "But we can and will work to a code of practice so that the children don't get hurt, the law isn't broken and the people who do want to take part don't get prosecuted. We have to take into account people's beliefs and their rights, and we will respect them. But we are not above the law and we never will be. Working with the authorities is the best chance we've got to prevent any harm being brought to any children." Mr Zia said that the Shia community was now working with the police and other agencies, while Muslims themselves were being encouraged to become blood donors, rather than beat themselves, to commemorate the martyrdom of Husayn. But he added: "How can you stop a child who wants to do this for his faith? We cannot discourage or stop them. The ceremony is very emotional, and people get very involved. At that particular time of high emotion, it is very difficult to say no to a child who wants to do it. "We are trying to educate people, but it will take time. We can't change things overnight." During the trial, Andrew Nuttall, the prosecuting lawyer, said: "In this country, children under the age of 16 will be protected under the law from harm. Beyond the age of 16, it is a matter for them, but a line has to be drawn in the sand and that line is 16. "In this country, the laws are very different from those in Pakistan. If you want children to perform this act, then take them to Pakistan." A spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service, which brought the case against Zaidi, said that the decision to prosecute was "not an attack upon the practices or ceremonies of Shia Muslims". "Indeed, the prosecution relied as part of its evidence upon the president of the local Shia community centre. We are satisfied that, given the ages of the children involved, the coercion employed by Syed Mustafa Zaidi, who did not accept that he was wrong, and the possibility of such an incident occurring again, the decision to prosecute was the correct one," she said. "This is a very unusual case and the first of its kind to be prosecuted by the CPS in England and Wales." @email:dsapsted@thenational.ae
Religion and cruelty collide in UK case
Unprecedented trail sparks discussion among authorities and spiritual leaders over the line between crime and custom.
Most popular today
