Iran has recorded the highest number of coronavirus cases in the Middle East, and is second only to China in the number of reported deaths. What’s more, a top adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has died from the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, this has not stopped Muslim worshipers from licking and kissing a shrine in Iran’s holy city of Qom, which Shia Muslims consider to be the second most sacred city in the Persian Gulf country after Mashhad.
A video captured two men and a younger male identified as a child licking the doors and burial mound inside the Fatima Masumeh shrine, with the men saying they are not afraid of the highly infectious virus that has killed close to 3,000 worldwide.
Here is the video, shared by Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad:
While the city of Qom is the epicentre of #CoronaVirus in Iran, authorities refuse to close down religious shrines there.
These pro-regime people are licking the shrines & encouraging people to visit them.
Iran's authorities are endangering lives of Iranians & the world pic.twitter.com/s9o6zYhzNQ
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) February 29, 2020
David Adams