18 - 24 January 2001
Issue No.517
|
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 18 - 24 January 2001 Issue No.517 |
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Mulid observed but no pilgrims
Tight security measures were clearly in evidence as far as 40 kilometres from Demitiouh village, where Abu Hassira has been buried since 1880. Monday was the mulid (birthday) of the Moroccan Jew, revered by many Jews as a holy man, but this year the colourful tents erected for pilgrims remained empty.
The annual mulid, which used to draw thousands of Israelis and Jews from all over the world, attracted very few pilgrims this year. Only three Egyptian Jews from Alexandria and a relative of Abu Hassira from Israel were able to attend. Hundreds of security forces, on maximum alert, with sniffer dogs and pointed guns, barred visitors as well as journalists from entering Abu Hassira's shrine.
According to Israeli embassy spokeswoman Eyellet Yehiav, a group of 70 Israelis had chartered a plane that was scheduled to arrive in Alexandria on Monday morning. It did not take off, however, because the Israelis were denied Egyptian entry visas in Tel Aviv. "In view of the fact that people can't come (to Egypt), how can there be a celebration?" Yehiav told Al-Ahram Weekly. "Of course we regret that, but right now we are trying to see what can be done." Yehiav had no explanation as to why Jews from other parts of the world had not come to the festival.
A government source, who insisted on anonymity, said that the Israeli embassy had been late in requesting entry visas "Consequently the Egyptian authorities couldn't issue the visas in time," the source said.
The festival, which normally lasts for a few days, had come to a virtual halt by the early evening on Monday.
According to legend Abu Hassira, a cobbler, was born Yacov Aharon in Morocco in 1807. He travelled from his homeland to the Holy Land, crossing the Mediterranean by sailing on a hassira (mat) as far as Alexandria. He settled in Demitiouh, and is said to have been a miracle worker.
The celebration of Abu Hassira's mulid was made possible when Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. However, the inhabitants of Demitiouh, together with many Egyptians, have resented the festivities. People complained about the rituals, which allegedly involved drinking alcohol, as well as the severe security measures. Other rituals include lighting candles, kissing the tomb, blessing dried fruits and bottles of alcohol and slaughtering animals.
On Monday, the first day of the festival-cum-pilgrimage, security forces were much in evidence on the streets and on rooftops. They easily outnumbered the 2,000 inhabitants of the placid village near Damanhour in the Nile delta province of Beheira, 50 kilometres south of Alexandria.
"They shouldn't come this year after all that is happening in Palestine," Umm Sayed, a local resident, told the Al-Ahram Weekly from her home 200 metres from the shrine. Umm Sayed complained that she and her children were intimidated by the heavy presence of security forces before and during the festival.
Diaa Rashwan, managing-editor of Report on the State of Religion in Egypt, published by the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies, rejects the idea floated by some that Abu Hassira's remains be moved to Israel. "Who gave Israel the right to monopolise the rights of Jews whether they are alive or dead?" he asked.
Rashwan considers the virtual cancellation of this year's festival a normal security measure "This is especially so if compared with Israeli security measures which prevent Palestinian worshippers under the age of 45 from praying at the Al-Aqsa Mosque," he says. "And praying is not to be compared with attending a festival."
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
