Turkish occupation destroys shrine for Alawites

BASIL RASHID / AL-SHAHBA

As a continuation of the systematic destruction and the looting of the monuments of the civilizations and religions of Afrin practiced by the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries in addition to the desecration of religious shrines in Afrin, one source in Mobata district told ANHA agency that the mercenaries of the so-called Eastern Freedom (Ahrar al-Sharqiya) Battalion of the Turkish occupation had looted and vandalized on Saturday the Shrine of Av Gayri, located under the water reservoir in the center of the district.

The shrine goes back to more than 160 years and was a religious destination for the Alawites in Afrin.

According to the source, the mercenaries had grubbed the shrine searching for gold and monuments to loot them.

Dozens of holy shrines spread throughout Afrin canton as the Alawites and other residents of the canton flock towards them because of their belief in their sanctity.

The most famous of those shrines are Yagmur Dada, Aslan Dada, Ali Dada and Maryam Dada. The word Dada refers to the great community in that particular geographical area, as well as three of the most famous shrines in the canton; Sultan Barzoush Shrine, Sheikh Hamo Shrine, and Sheikh Maem Shrine.

Dozens of thousands of Alawities have lived in Afrin, the great part of them spread in Mobata district center and the majority of the historical research indicates that they came to the canton from Bakur Kurdistan during the Ottoman massacres and the genocide that targeted them. Furthermore, there is still a connection between the Alwaities of Afrin and Bakur Kurdistan which is considered a religious reference to them.

H/S

ANHA