Religious Festival with Thousands of Attendees Held in Mashhad Amid Widespread Coronavirus Outbreak
A religious ceremony called the “Popular Eid al-Bayyah Festival” was held on Monday evening, November 26th, with the attendance of thousands of people at Imam Reza Stadium in Mashhad, while a Mashhad city administration official acknowledged that no permit had been issued by the city administration and the coronavirus control headquarters for holding religious ceremonies.
According to the IRNA news agency, Mashhad city administration officials announced that no permit was issued for this festival, while the Islamic Propaganda Organization, as the event organizer, claims to have received approval and a “verbal permit” from the Mashhad Health Center.
The head of the Islamic Propaganda Office in Mashhad on Monday evening told IRNA: “This grand festival took place this afternoon in an open space with full compliance with social distancing.”
Earlier on the same day, Ahmad Rivadeh, the political deputy of Mashhad’s governor, told ISNA that the national and provincial coronavirus control headquarters had ordered officials to prevent the holding of ceremonies and gatherings and transfer them to “virtual platforms.”
The officials of Mashhad Health Center have so far not issued a formal response to the holding of this thousands-strong gathering at Imam Reza Stadium.
However, Mashhad Municipality announced on Monday that this institution had “no role” in organizing the Popular Eid al-Bayyah Festival and that the “municipality logo was misused” in designing the event’s posters.
This religious festival was held with a “verbal permit” at a time when, about two weeks earlier, many admirers and supporters of Mohammadreza Shajarian, Iran’s traditional music master and vocalist, were unable to attend the funeral ceremony of their beloved artist due to restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Source: Radio Farda
