SHAFAQNA- Penang mufti Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor stressed that the fatwa branding Shia Muslims in Malaysia as deviant should be reviewed, as such pronouncements are not sacrosanct in Islam.
Wan Salim said it was not true that the ban on Shia teachings in Malaysia was inspired by prejudice among the religious figures. Instead, he blames it on a lack of knowledge.
He said some Muslim scholars in Malaysia do not have accurate knowledge about Shia Islam, with much of the information coming from the wrong sources.
He said there is a need for a study on the differences between Shia and Sunni practices, and this should include references with authoritative Shia scholars, according to malaysia-today.
“So it’s up to the thinkers and scholars to handle these differences, whether they want to make it a source of disunity, or use it to promote tolerance and respects,” he added.
A Malaysian academic appointed by Harvard University to research the Shia diaspora has welcomed remarks by Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor.
Faisal Tehrani, who was recently appointed as an associate for a project on Shiism commissioned by Harvard’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, said state Islamic authorities in Malaysia had in the past acted with more wisdom in according the rights of minority Muslim groups who do not subscribe to the officially followed Sunni doctrine.
Malaysia has a Muslim majority but most follow Sunni Islam. Shia Muslims have long faced discrimination, with religious authorities considering them deviant and imams regularly denouncing them in sermons, Agence France-Presse mentioned.
In 2016, activist Amri Che Mat was forcefully disappeared in the northern state of Perlis after he had been accused of “spreading Shia beliefs” by a local mufti. Recently, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) concluded an investigation which found that “agents of the state” carried out the enforced disappearance.
In May, members of a charity group which distributed leaflets in Kuala Lumpur on the life and deeds of Imam Hussain (A.S) were accused of trying to spread Shia Islam. Although they were reportedly Sunni, they told local media that they had received threats of violence online, Aljazeera told.
In September, authorities in Johor and Selangor have chosen to raid private Muslim Shia events in the days leading up to Ashura.
One such raid was conducted by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) on the Shia headquarters in Gombak on September 6.
In another raid, eight people were arrested at a private function in Kempas, Johor. In both events, Shia Muslims were gathering to mark the occasion of Ashura.
Faisal said as minorities, Shia Muslims, whom he estimates number about 250,000 in Malaysia, should be protected.
“A function of democracy is to protect minorities, including religious minorities. If we consider Shia followers as fools, well, democracy is also for the fools, it’s not only for intelligent people.
“If Rahmatan lil Alamin covers animals and aliens, why not fellow humans from among the minorities?” he asked, referring to the government’s Islamic slogan pledging mercy for all.
Faisal said mainstream Islamic scholars in Malaysia are spoilt for choice when it comes to consulting authoritative Shia sources.
“There are many associations that can act as moderators, whether in Indonesia, Singapore, the UK or the US. They will tell you who these authoritative Shia scholars are”, freemalaysiatoday reported.