Nigerian Shi’ahs:

Crackdown smells of Wahhabism

Rasa – Shi’ah Muslims in Nigeria say the government’s bloody crackdown on the religious minority is influenced by Wahhabism, a radical ideology dominating Saudi Arabia.

News ID: 424790

Date: 04 November 2016 - 14:48

RNA – Abdul Giwa, a spokesman for the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), said he believed the Abuja authorities are launching a campaign of blood and destruction against Nigerian Shi’ah under the influence of the extremist Wahhabi ideology, Reuters reported on Friday.

“We feel repressed,” said the IMN spokesman. “We have the freedom of religion. What the government should do is tolerate and understand us.”

The IMN stands accused of holding “unlawful processions” and “obstruction of public highways” since last December when the army forces launched a crackdown against the group.

On December 12, 2015, Nigerian forces attacked Shi’ahs during a ceremony at a religious center in the northern city of Zaria. The forces claim the Shi’ahs in the ceremony had blocked an army convoy passing through, attempting to assassinate the army chief of staff who was in the convoy.

One day after the incident, Nigerian forces attacked the home of Shaykh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky, arresting the prominent cleric and IMN leader after killing his supporters. A judiciary investigation into the incidents concluded that army forces had killed 348 members of the religious community in the two-day attacks.

London-based rights group Amnesty International published a report in April on the raids, documenting evidence showing Nigerian military forces’ burning people alive, razing buildings and secretly dumping victims’ bodies in mass graves.

Since then, tensions have been running high between the regime and Nigeria’s Shi’ah Muslims who demand the release of Shaykh Zakzaky.

Last month, at least 11 people were killed and several others injured when Nigerian forces opened fire at Shi’ah mourners commemorating Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Husayn, the third Shi’ah Imam.

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