It is indeed ironic that Malaysia despite its credentials as a progressive Muslim country has over the recent years sacrificed its independence by bowing to the dictates of the Wahhabi regime in Saudi Arabia and intensifying discriminatory measures against its own citizens who chose to follow the jurisprudential School of the Ahl al-Bayt of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA) and are proud to call themselves Sh’ite Muslims. No we have a special report in this regard.
On 21st April 2014, at 2.30 pm Mohammad Kamel-Zuhairi Abdul Aziz, a local Malaysian Shia religious leader was arrested while giving an opening speech celebrating the birth anniversary of Hazrat Fatema Zahra (SA), the Immaculate Daughter of Prophet Mohammad (SAWA). He was speaking at a luncheon organized by his group. The luncheon has been held for many years to mark Women’s Day in honour of Hazrat Fatema (SA), who is revered by Sunnis and Shi’as alike. Some 10 policemen in uniform, accompanied by religious officers from Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor – or the Selangor State Islamic Department – and officials from The Registrar of Societies of Malaysia, known as ROS, arrived in Taman Sri Gombak, at the luncheon and arrested him after a little argument. Kamel Zuhairi was brought to Selayang Police HQ in the state of Selangor and was interrogated for more than 6 hours. At one point, policemen and officials from ROS went to his house to find for documents related to the existence of Shia Ja’fari community in Malaysia. The Registrar of Societies of Malaysia is a department under the Ministry of Home Affairs that handles non-governmental organizations and political parties.
According to Gombak Police Chief, ACP Ahmad Ali, the arrest was made after ROS lodged a police report on the existence of Ja'fari movement which is allegedly not registered as an association. However it is important to note that on 24 July 2013, Secretary General of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahim Mohamad Radzi, said that it is decided by the Home Ministry that any Shia movement is not recognized and considered illegal. This according to him is in accordance with Section 5 of the Societies Act 1966. He was commenting an attempt by a Shia organization to apply to register with the The Registrar of Societies of Malaysia in the state of Melaka on June 18 2011, but was rejected on August 4 of the same year.
On 29th July 2013, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Jamil Khir Baharom said that Malaysian government tolerates Christians, Hindus and other faith but won’t allow Shia Muslims to exist in Malaysia. The Malaysian government's ill treatment of Shia Muslims is the result of a so-called fatwa issued in 1996 banning, outlawing and declaring Shia as ‘a deviant teaching', despite the fact that Shia Muslims strictly follow the Sunnah of the Prophet by practicing the teachings of the Infallible Ahl al-Bayt.
Kamel Zuhairi was released with two guarantors before midnight on April 22, 2014 and the investigation is still ongoing. He is given a date to appear in court and is suspected of violating section 42 of the Societies Act. Kamel will be given two months by ROS to give explanations or he will face charge. The Malaysia people have come with a strong denouncement of this act of their government as oppressive and discriminatory since it violates the fundamental rights of human beings. The State should be reminded of its obligation to respect and fully protect the rights of all individuals to assemble peacefully and associate freely. The statement said: We believe this matter should be taken into consideration by Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of assembly and association.
Malaysia has a serious human rights problem, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), which released a 100-plus page report entitled “No Answers, No Apologies” detailing abuses by Malaysian authorities. The report comes on the heels of accounts that Malaysia arrested infants from the country’s minority Shiite Muslims, based upon the alleged “crime” of engaging in Shia religious practices. International attention has been given to Malaysia after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing last month, and human rights watchdogs welcome the focus. The HRW report says: “Unjustified shootings, mistreatment and deaths in custody, and excessive use of force in dispersing public assemblies persist because of an absence of meaningful accountability for Malaysia’s police force, the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP).
The human rights abuses are directed at all sectors of the Malaysian society, however, significant media attention has been drawn towards the plight of Shia Muslims in Malaysia, who are facing increased discrimination on a daily basis.
“Among the marginalized in Malaysia, there is a single group perhaps more marginalized than many. They are the people that Malaysia has forgotten. They are the Shiite Muslims” says Loyar Burok, a popular Malaysian blog. The article is entitled “Shiite Muslims in Malaysia: A Cultural Genocide.” The issue of anti-Shia human rights abuses is slowly becoming endemic to the country’s populace. On Reddit, on a discussion of human rights abuses in Malaysia, one user wrote “In Malaysia, the Shia Muslims are considered deviant. They are not allowed to form a group to practice their faith.
Meanwhile, in neighbouring Indonesia, some 1,000 people converged last Sunday at the Al Fajr mosque in the West Java capital of Bandung, in what appeared to be the first organized attempt to persecute Shi’ite Muslims in Indonesia. The protestors, believed to be funded by Takfiri elements said they opposed the decision of the PDI-P Party to choose Shia Muslim figure Jalaluddin Rahmat as its top legislative candidate for the West Java area in the April 9 legislative election. It remains unclear whether Jalaluddin has secured a legislative seat. A Shia-linked organization, the Indonesian Ahlul Bait Association (IJABI), has sent letters to the West Java Police, the West Java governor and the commander of the Siliwangi Regional Military Command to protest the alliance’s declaration. Indonesia is estimated to be home to at least 3 million Shia followers, with West Java home to one of the highest concentrations of Shiites. Persecution of Shia Muslims has escalated in the past few years. In 2012, Tajul Muluk, a Shia religious leader from Sampang, East Java, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment on trumped charges of blasphemy. In the same year, a mob set fire to dozens of Shiite homes in Sampang, killing two Shia Muslims and forcing hundreds of others to take refuge in Sidoarjo, around 100 kilometers away.
source : irib
