Shia Mourning Ceremony Raided in Kuala Lumpur
According to the Ahlul Bayt News Agency (ABNA), the ceremony was underway at the Imam Reza (AS) Husseiniyah (religious center) in Kuala Lumpur when police stormed the building.
They interrogated senior cleric Hojat-ol-Islam Mohammed Kamel Haji Zahir bin Abdul Aziz and then took him away for further questioning, the report said.
Shia Muslims, and others in different parts of the world, started holding ceremonies from Thursday, to mourn the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS) and his companions in the month of Muharram.
Imam Hussein (AS) and a small group of his followers and family members were martyred by the tyrant of his time - Yazid Bin Moaweya.
They were martyred in the battle of Karbala on Ashura- the tenth day of Muharram which is the first month on the lunar calendar.
Malaysia has a 250,000-strong Shia population but anti-Shia sentiments have been growing in the South East Asian country in recent years.
In 2013, the Malaysian government said it is seeking to prevent Shia Islam from spreading.
Home Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Abdul Rahim Mohamad Radzi said at the time that Shia followers who were only a small community of three camps 10 years ago are now a population of 250,000, including 10 active groups, across Malaysia.
“The development of information technology is among the factors for their growth as the teachings are spreading through a range of social sites,” Radzi said, urging that the Shia movement be rooted out.
He went on to say that eradication measures “involve the Home Ministry, the police, Registrar of Societies, control of publications under the Printing and Publication Act, curbing the production of CDs and DVDs by the Film Censorship Board and monitoring by the Immigration Department.”
Radzi further added at the time that 10 states had barred Shia movement based on anti-Shariah Enactment, while the government’s anti-Shia measures are underway in four states namely Pahang, Kelantan, Sabah and Sarawak.
