Iranians may refrain from pilgrimages to Mecca this yearApril 29, 2011 - 13:07 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A prominent lawmaker called for Iranians to boycott some pilgrimages to Mecca in protest at what he called Saudi support for the suppression of demonstrations in Bahrain, the official IRNA news agency said. As tensions mount between the Gulf's two most powerful countries, Mohammad-Taqi Rahbar, leader of the clerical faction in parliament, said Iranian clergy should discourage "umrah" pilgrimages, which Muslims are encouraged but not obliged to perform. All Muslims are meant to visit Mecca, the birthplace of the Prophet Mohammad, at least once in their lives on a "haj" pilgrimage. The umrah, sometimes called the 'lesser pilgrimage', can be performed by individuals at any time of the year and is not compulsory, Reuters reported. "Iranians go on umrah pilgrimage while the massacre of Muslims, the destruction of mosques and the burning of the Koran are done in Bahrain by Saudi military forces. The money that Iranian Muslims spend on the umrah is used to buy weapons to massacre Bahraini Muslims," Rahbar was quoted as saying. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Putin congratulates Pashinyan’s birthday Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his birthday on June 1. Opposition motorcade en route to Gyumri for large rally A motorcade of protesters headed by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan is heading to the city of Gyumri. Ruling MPs, Foreign Minister talk Armenia-Azerbaijan processes MOs from the ruling Civil Contract party met with the Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in the Armenian parliament. Russia: Armenia’s frozen membership weakens CSTO position in Caucasus A Russian envoy said any step that could alienate the CSTO member states from each other is “deeply wrong”. |