A religious scholar in Malaysia blasts the arrest of more than 200 Muslim Shias, including Iranians, Indonesians and Pakistanis, at an Ashura mourning ceremony.
“Malaysia is trying to become a country a la Taliban that only allows one school of thought,” prominent Muslim scholar Asri Zainul Abidin said.
“Even though I personally don’t agree with Shia teachings and even frequently criticize and debate with them, I cannot accept the approach of the allegedly democratic Malaysian government in denying the people’s right to practice their faith,” he said.
Nurhamizah Othman, a public relations officer at the Selangor Islamic Religious Department said the detainees have all been released on bail, except for two Iranians.
Among the detainees were lecturers and students of higher-education as well as lawyers and government employees believed to have been operating in the area for nearly two years, Othman said.
The Islamic court of Malaysia is expected to charge those arrested with ‘following a deviationist movement,’ which carries a penalty of up to two years in jail, the PR officer added.
On Ashura day, Shia Muslims hold mourning ceremonies to pay homage to martyred Imam Hossein (PBUH), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and the martyrdom of 72 of his companions and family members in Karbala, Iraq, over 1,300 years ago. They were martyred while fighting for justice. *
January 26th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Strange, but true though as photos of the arrestation have been published on some websites such as Ahlulbayt TV Channel’s website. Strange because we thought of Malaysia as a free muslim country that is not leashed by the ‘W’ league of KSA. In Kuala Lampur, Christians, Bhuddists and Hindus have freedom of creed and worship like all other Muslims, but when a small group of peaceful Shia muslims whose sect never involved in any blood shed -unlike others- then it’s a crime against the country’s law, so called “deviation from the path of Islam”!! After I admired Malaysia, I now dispise it and wish I never visited it. God help those innocent Muslims who committed no crime but to mourn for the death of the Household of the Holy Prophet.
February 27th, 2011 at 7:29 am
Please support and sign my petition : http://www.gopetition.com/petition/39665.html
Help our shia brothers and sisters in Malaysia. Thank you.
February 27th, 2011 at 12:59 pm
Thank you for the link- I hope many people will sign.