Saturday, January 15, 2011

Teman-Teman Shiah Malaysia, Kasihan Lo!

In this Muslim-majority country, it's OK to be Christian, Buddhist or Hindu. But not Shiite.

Malaysian religious police raided a three-story shop-house last month and detained more than 100 Shiites who had gathered to mark the death of one of their most beloved saints, Prophet Muhammad's grandson, who was killed in the year 680.

It was one of the largest such sweeps in years, sparking outrage and fear in the country's small but growing Shiite community. Some religious scholars see it as a worrying sign that Islamic authorities are becoming more hard-line.

"Malaysia is trying to become a country a la Taliban that only allows one school of thought," said prominent scholar Asri Zainul Abidin.

Despite its reputation for religious tolerance, Malaysia has been quietly discriminating against its own for years. The government recognizes only the Sunni branch of Islam and prohibits all others including Shiites, the world's second largest Islamic group.

Shiites face discrimination elsewhere, but Malaysia appears to be the only place that actually outlaws them.

"We are the oppressed people," said Kamil Zuhairi Abdul Aziz, the Iranian-trained religious leader for the Lovers of the Prophet's Household, the Shiite group raided by the religious police on Dec. 15.

The event they were commemorating, the death of Prophet Muhammad's grandson in the seventh century, helped seal the split between the majority Sunnis and the Shiites, whose strongest base today is in Iran.

Kamil estimates there are at least 40,000 Shiites among Malaysia's 16 million Muslims, though the number could be higher as many conceal their faith to avoid trouble. A few have been detained in the past, and some sent to faith rehabilitation centers, but there is no official data on the number of arrests.

Malaysia's ban was issued in 1996 by the National Fatwa Council of top Islamic clerics and seen as unusual in the Muslim world. The council comes under the government's Islamic Advancement Department, so its decrees are de facto law.

The 3 million Shiites in neighboring Indonesia are able to practice freely, though they are often harassed on hard-line Sunni websites. In Bahrain, the government cracks down on Shiite activists, fearing they could be a backdoor for Iranian influence.

Sunni extremists have bombed Shiite gatherings in Pakistan, and much of the violence in Iraq has been between Sunni and Shiite militias as the two sides vie for power.

It's not clear what prompted the recent raid in Malaysia, but Islamic officials defend the ban as crucial to prevent unrest among Muslims.

"Shia is an Iranian sect," said leading cleric Harussani Zakaria, a member of the National Fatwa Council. "It has expanded secretly and now has many supporters who are starting to practice their faith in public. We don't want any religious differences. They are a threat to Muslim unity in Malaysia."

In defense of the raid, several Islamic officials said Shiism could give rise to fanatics as it permits the killing of Muslims from other sects, a claim denied by the Iranian embassy and Shiites here. Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, responding to reporters, said that Shiites don't pose a threat to national security.

The Iranian embassy issued a statement urging the government to prevent the spread of such false information. "Currently, there are about 400 million followers of the radiant path ... in the world and such baseless statements are utter disrespect to all of them," the statement read in part.

Some Malaysian Shiite families have practiced for generations while many others were exposed and subsequently converted to Shiism after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.

Many meet in one of 40 "hauzars," or "houses of knowledge." The one that Kamil leads, the most prominent and largest with 500 members, is on the top floor of a shop-house in a suburb of the city of Kuala Lumpur.

On Dec. 15, religious police arrived in trucks and detained about 125 people, including some 30 foreigners, mostly from Pakistan. Most were released on bail and given hearing dates at the Shariah court, which adjudicates religious cases.

Officials have said the foreigners are expected to be let off, but the Malaysians could be charged with following the teachings of a deviant movement, which carries a penalty of up to two years in prison.

Kamil has been charged with insulting Islamic officials, with his hearing set for Feb. 17.

His group has turned to the government-backed Human Rights Commission of Malaysia to demand the right to worship freely .

Mastura Ahmad, a 46-year-old homemaker among those detained, said she became a follower after marrying her Shiite husband, whose ancestors are from Indonesia.

"I feel comfortable with Shia. There is more guidance given and I feel safer. But I don't declare my faith openly because people don't understand. My neighbors will gossip about it and label us as deviants and we may be ostracized," she said.

Followers still gather at Kamil's hauzar, but iron grills have been installed at the entrance, in part because of concerns that drugs or explosives could be planted in the center to undermine the group.

Some 100 followers filed in for prayers on the first Tuesday of the new year. A wall mural depicting Noah's Ark greeted them as they entered a long carpeted hall draped with banners in Arabic and separated into sections for men and women.

During the one-hour session, Kamil led prayers over a loudspeaker. Then, poems were read to continue the mourning for the grandson of Prophet Muhammad.

"Here in Malaysia, they cannot accept the differences," Rashid Ahmad, a 46-year-old follower, said before the service. "There has been a campaign of demonizing us by the religious authorities. They are jealous of our influence. In the whole world, Shia is awakening."

He requested not to be photographed to protect his identity as his child is receiving a government scholarship, and he fears it could be withdrawn.

Ambil sini.

Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Syiah Malaysia: Reaksi Keras Lembaga Internasional Ahlul Bait Atas Kejahatan Wahabi

Bisimihi ta‘âlâ

Kepada Yth:
Anggota Majelis Umum Lembaga Internasional Ahlul Bait as.


Assalamualaikum Wr. Wb.
A‘zdama-Allâhu ujûronâ wa ujûrokum bi mushôbinâ Al-Husain as.

Teriring belasungkawa dalam rangka mengenang hari-hari dukacita baginda dan penghulu para syahid, Abu Abdillah Husain as, kami sampaikan bahwa aparat keamanan negara bagian Selangor, Malaysia, di malam Asyura Husaini melalui putusan pengadilan syariah dan hasutan agen-agen Wahhabi dalam departemen agama setempat, telah melakukan penangkapan sekelompok dari saudara-saudari peserta majelis dukacita melalui sebuah aksi penggerebekan yang keji terhadap Husainiyah Al-Ridha as. dengan tujuan membubarkan majelis dukacita untuk sosok kelima dari keluarga Al-Kisa’. Selain aksi penistaan terhadap kehormatan majelis dan tempat yang mulia itu, mereka juga telah menyita buku-buku keagamaan, Al-Quran, Mafâtîh Al-Jinân, termasuk turbah, poster, dan atribut-atribut azadari ‘dukacita’.

Aksi penistaan dan pengadilan terhadap sejumlah peserta majelis dukacita yang ditangkap itu segera disusul oleh gelombang besar pemberitaan palsu yang dikerahkan oleh agen-agen yang terkait dengan Wahhabisme di bawah arahan kekuatan arogansi internasional terhadap Syiah di dunia maya dan media-media massa Malaysia; dibubuhi dengan berbagai fitnah pemikiran dan tuduhan kosong yang tak berdasar dan tak didukung oleh satu argumentasi atau referensi apa pun dalam Islam, Al-Quran, dan Sunnah Rasulullah Saw.

Lembaga Internasional Ahlul Bait as. (Majma-e Jahani-e Ahl-e Bayt as), seraya mengutuk aksi penistaan terhadap kehormatan majelis dan acara Asyura Husaini serta simbol-simbol suci agama, tidak dapat menerima aksi pemicu pertikaian demikian itu terhadap Syiah dan menyatakan tegas bahwa aksi-aksi yang diambil oleh kelompok-kelompok takfir ‘juru pengkafir’ serta kaum Wahhabi terhadap Syiah hingga kini masih berlangsung dalam upaya menghasut sentimen anti-Islam pihak musuh dan menyulut api perselisihan di antara Ahli Sunnah dan Syiah sebagai cara mereka membuktikan jasanya dalam melayani imperialisme.

Penghasutan dan penyulutan ini bertujuan untuk melemahkan tubuh umat Islam dan, walaupun sudah berlangsung lama, namun dalam beberapa tahun belakangan ini, upaya itu terus dilaksanakan secara lebih gencar dalam berbagai modus dan cara melalui anasir Wahhabisme dan kroni-kroni kekuatan arogan, selain juga didukung oleh bantuan finansial dan media massa yang kini dikuasai oleh pihak-pihak konspirator. Akan tetapi, sikap bijak kalangan ulama dan tokoh-tokoh Ahli Sunnah dan Syiah dalam membongkar konspirasi tersebut berpengaruh positif lebih dari sebelumnya dalam kondisi dimana umat Islam tengah membutuhkan persatuan.

Untuk itu, diminta kepada Anda sebagai anggota terhormat Majelis Umum agar, di samping mengutuk aksi penistaan keji tersebut, menyatakan protes secara tertulis kepada kedutaan besar kerajaan Malaysia di negara masing-masing.

Terima kasih
Lembaga Internasional Ahlul Bait as.
14 Muharam Al-Haram 1432



About Me

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Graduan arkiteksur S1 UI. S2 Universitas Sains Malaysia. Pernah ikut suami ke Penang, Malaysia. Kini 'bekerja dengan famili.' Asal Utan Kayu, Jakarta, Indonesia