Man convicted for child cruely in Muslim ceremony

A man accused of involving two teenage boys in self-flagellation as part of a Muslim religious ritual was convicted of child cruelty Wednesday.

British prosecutors said it was the first time anyone in England had been tried for allegedly making children flog themselves, a practice used by some Shiite Muslims use to mark Ashoura, commemorating the seventh century death of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson Imam Hussein.

Prosecutors said Syed Mustafa Zaidi, 44, forced the teens to flog themselves at a Muslim community center in the northern English city of Manchester on Jan. 19. The flail they used carried small blades attached by chains that left superficial lacerations on their backs.

Zaidi told Manchester Crown Court that the children — 13 and 15 at the time — had asked to participate. "No one forced anyone," he said.

The jury took less than three hours to convict him of two counts of child cruelty. Sentencing was set for next month.

The participation of adolescents in such rites is "very standard," according to Frank Korom, an associate professor of religion at Boston University — although he noted that in Europe and North America self-flagellation was virtually unheard of.

British prosecutors said the law barred children under 16 from harming themselves, even willingly.

Safdar Zia, the general secretary of the Jaffria Islamic Center in Manchester, said the case had focused the Shiite community's attention on child cruelty laws.

"We cannot eliminate this practice (self-flagellation), 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," Zia said.

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