Persecution of Imamis in Malaysia & World Silence

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

Malaysia may be ‘My Asia’ for others but certainly not for the followers of Ahle-Bait.Since1996,Imamis are being persecuted and  prevented from practicing their faith tragically at the behest of Government. For them, Malaysia is not a progressive and developed nation but a country that is striving to eliminate Imamis like cruel and anti-Ahle-Bait Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphs. The government is going ahead with its agenda calmly as the world prefers to watch the whole issue with silence. The plight and persecution of Imamis never make headlines. The local media is also divided over the issue. While one section justifies the marginalization of Imamis, the other offers a balanced approach but refrains from attacking the government for depriving ‘Hussaini Community’ of its rights despite guaranteeing freedom of religion in the constitution.

It all began when the Fatwa committee of the National Council for Islamic Affairs on May 5,1996 determined that Muslims in Malaysia can only practice Islam based on Sunni beliefs. The committee also described Imamis as deviant and not within the purview of Islam. The fatwa has given a sort of license to authorities to persecute Imamis and prevent them from worshipping publicly, publicizing, broadcasting and distributing any books, leaflets, films and videos that relate to their school of thought. Further, the persecution of Imamis and restriction on propagation of their ideology is also in contravention of Article 18 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights (1948), ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (2012),Islamabad Declaration (2007), The Amman Message (2004), The International Bill of Human Rights and The Federal Constitution of Malaysia.

Yet since the implementation of Fatwa, Imamis have been placed under the Internal Security Act (ISA)  for spreading their teachings. Those released later were told to renounce their  faith  as a precondition. As the act provides detention without trial, it is being used against Imamis with impunity. From 2000 Ad onwards, Imamis have been arrested on the charge of  threatening national security. On similar ground, they were not allowed to commemorate the martyrdom of Prophet’s grandson on Yaum-e-Ashura in Salengor. Islamic Religious Department officers entered the Ali- al-Ridha Islamic Centre in Seri Gombak and detained 200 mourners in 2010. The following year, security forces accompanied Religious Department officers for mass arrest of Imamis for celebrating the birthday of Lady Fatima, the daughter of the Holy Prophet.

Local mosques across Malaysia are under instruction  to deliver anti-Imami sermons during  Friday prayers. In November 2013, Non Imami Muslims  were exhorted to  stop the spread of  Islam based on Imami principles through “jihad”(Holy struggle).Malaysian ministers and authorities  have been constantly advocating for an amendment to  the Malaysian Federal Constitution, with the addition of the word “Sunni” to be inserted after Islam as the official religion of Malaysia.

Most recently, the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) pointed out that Imami faith violated Islamic law on the false allegation that the sect does not believe in Friday prayers. Department has also raked up the issue of national security in banning Imami practices. Anti-Imami forces feel that Imamis were propagating their faith very aggressively in Malaysia after Iranian revolution of 1979 and hence, they emerged as a threat to national security and needs to be controlled through punitive measures.

Reference-

The post is based on the inputs   taken from a study carried out by Janab Muhammad Haji on Imamis of Malaysia )