HSTuners - Al Queda cemetery believed to hold misterious powers ?

But, this is no ordinary cemetery. The ground marks the final resting place of some 60 al Qaeda fighters, enemies of the new Afghan government and its American allies, but heroes and martyrs to many of the residents of this conservative city, the birthplace of the Taliban.
Although it's been nearly a year since the Taliban fled the city, along with their al Qaeda partners, pockets of fundamentalists remain, and they have been flocking to the graveyard, amidst rumors that the tombs contain mystical powers.

Word is spreading throughout Kandahar that the faithful who come to pay their respects will be cured of illnesses. Rumors have spread about the powers of the cemetery, and stories of the sick being healed and the blind regaining their sight have sparked a steady stream of visitors.

As the sun sets into the barren mountains ringing this primitive city each night, scores of the faithful and the curious come to the cemetery, hoping that the spirits of the martyrs will heal them.

Abdul Hamid says it worked for him. "I came here to pray," said the 23-year-old. "And I have prayed that God should cure me… I came here because a few weeks ago, I had an illness, and I came here, and I was cured."

He says he was cured by licking the salt other "mourners" have left on the graves, and by praying at the makeshift shrine.

Some who come here, even take rocks off the tombs, stuffing them quickly in their pockets as they glance around warily, hoping the souvenirs will bring them luck and health.

Government Crackdown

The myth of the al Qaeda cemetery has become so powerful that the government has tried to crack down and prevent mourners from paying their respects.

Groups of burqa-clad women, many of them carrying infants, hide behind rocks, waiting for the government's security guards to turn their backs, before making a break for the graves.

Torjon is one of these guards, and he says it's outrageous that people continue to flock to the graves of fallen al Qaeda fighters. "This has become a picnic spot, a tourist attraction," he says. "I have been appointed to make sure that people do not come here to visit the graves of our enemies, the people who destroyed our country."

But, still, they come. Though Torjon and his fellow guards throw stones at some of the visitors and threaten to arrest them, the mystical lure of the graves has proven too powerful for many to resist.

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