Malaysian academic asks:

Anti-Shi’a authorities partly responsible for Malaysians joining ISIL?

Rasa – Sayyed Farid noted that Shi’ism, which is considered a deviant sect in Malaysia as it only recognises the Sunni school of Islam, have been arrested in Perak for possessing Shi’a materials and have had their homes raided in Temerloh.

News ID: 422309

Date: 06 May 2016 - 17:01

RNA ― A National University of Singapore (NUS) professor questioned today if the actions of the Malaysian authorities towards Shi’as contributed partly to Malaysians joining the so-called Islamic State to kill Shi’as in Iraq and Syria.

Dr Sayyed Farid Alatas, a Malaysian who is an associate professor of sociology at NUS, noted that Shi’ism, which is considered a deviant sect in Malaysia as it only recognises the Sunni school of Islam, have been arrested in Perak for possessing Shi’a materials and have had their homes raided in Temerloh.

“Authorities have to do soul-searching to check whether they’re partly responsible for the murder of Shi’as in Iraq and Syria by fomenting hatred in the minds of some Malaysians toward Shi’as,” Sayyed Farid told a forum on Islam and democracy organised by G25, a lobby group of Malay retired senior civil servants.

Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) chief Nasharudin Mat Isa told local daily The Star in an interview published today that non-mainstream Islamic teachings, such as Shi’ism and Sufism, need to be “controlled” to help Malaysia develop Islam to its current dominant position.

Islamic authorities in Malaysia have repeatedly demonised the Shi’as, with the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) claiming in a Friday sermon in 2013 that the school of thought permitted sodomy.

After Sunnism, Shi’as make up about 10-20% of Muslims worldwide identifying themselves as adherents, mostly in Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan and Bahrain.

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