ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Hundreds of Sufi dervishes from Iran breached security at a Kurdistan Region border crossing on Thursday, determined to attend the funeral of an order leader, according to a border security chief. Security forces at the Bashmakh border crossing, close to the city of Penjwin, were unable to hold back the crowd of dervishes from the Qadiriyya religious order en route to Sulaimani for the funeral of Sheikh Mohammad al-Kasnazani. "[Hundreds of] dervish followers who wanted to attend the funeral of Sheikh Mohammad al-Kasnazani stormed a security checkpoint at the border gate with swords, knives and daggers," Major Gen. Mariwan Sheikh Kamal, in charge of the crossing told Rudaw. "They should have been prevented from crossing on the Iranian side and not permitted to enter Kurdistan Region land," he added. Mukhtar Haji Ali, head of Bashmakh border crossing’s media department, told Rudaw that Iranian forces injured six of the dervishes. One of the injured was treated in the Kurdistan Region, then returned to Iran, Ali added. Ali also told Rudaw that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) deputy prime minister Qubad Talabani ordered the border crossing's closure to all traffic for 24 hours in response to the incident. Kasnazani, 82, died of natural causes in the United States last week. He had been living in Jordan, but regularly traveled to the Kurdistan Region. A family member told Rudaw that his body will be repatriated to Sulaimani on Friday. Footage submitted to Rudaw by Jwamer Hussein, a local on the scene, purportedly shows a large number of dervishes accompanied by daf drum percussion crossing the border. Border chief Kamal said the dervishes crossed the border in flagrance of travel regulations, holding "no travel documents" and making their journey at a time when the KRG has imposed cross-border travel restrictions on non-commercial traffic because of the coronavirus pandemic. The dervishes spoken to by Rudaw seemed unphased by any health or other repercussions they may face. One dervish told Rudaw that they are willing to stay in the province for three days; another claimed “we are not afraid of anything - neither the coronavirus, nor our Iranian enemies.” Mohammed Qadir, spokesperson for the KRG's health ministry, told Rudaw that the arrival of a large number of dervishes without medical and administrative checks could cause a “catastrophe” for Sulaimani in the coming months. “They have to be tested for coronavirus and prevent them from conducting gatherings, if not there will be a catastrophe in Sulaimani after two weeks because a number of the dervishes are suspected to have contracted coronavirus.” Iran continues to be a regional epicenter for the outbreak. Iraq's first recorded cases of the virus were people who had returned from trips to Iran. "They should have been prevented from crossing on the Iranian side and not permitted to enter Kurdistan Region land," Kamal said. Sheikh Saman Marif Barzinji, one of Kasnazani's sons, told Rudaw that "we cannot stop people from coming to attend the funeral" - but said that in view of the pandemic, "no formal wakes" would be organised for his late father. The Qadiriyya order of Sufism has congregational sites in 92 countries, including China and the US, Barzinji added, with the majority of its followers coming from India and Iran. Updated at 12:15 am on July 10, 2020
