ASIA/IRAQ - Campaign against the gifts between people in love on Valentine's Day. The Islamists: "it is a Christian feast"

Mosul (Agenzia Fides) - Some shopkeepers in Mosul who exposed gifts and gadgets to be sold on St. Valentine’s day were forced to obey the threats of armed groups who invited them to put their merchandise away, constituted largely by showy hearts and red teddy bears. This was confirmed to ankawa agency.com by the merchant Majed Ibrahim, owner of a gift shop in the University area. The stated reason of the ostracism against the day celebrated by boyfriends and girlfriends around the world is its connection with the Christian feast of St. Valentine from Terni, the bishop martyr who lived in the third century after Christ, venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church and the Churches of the East, considered the patron saint of lovers and epileptics. According to testimonies, even some preachers in the mosques expressed public warnings against a feast that in recent years had recorded an increasing appeal among young Arabs, regardless of their religious affiliation. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 14/02/2014)