(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) The government must stop its campaign against Shiite Muslims for the sake of political mileage as it spells persecution, says the Lawyers for Liberty movement.Citing three incidents in the country that took place recently, the movement to defend human rights said it has detected a coordinated campaign to criminalise Shiism and described the attempts as unlawful.The three incidents it cited are the charging of two Malaysians in Perak with the possession of Shiite materials, federal police chief Khalid Abu Bakar’s sweeping and unsubstantiated link between Shiism and militancy and Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi accusing PAS deputy chief Mohamad Sabu of being Shiite.“We see parallels with Myanmar’s persecution of Muslims by the Buddhist-majority state, which has very little to do with defending Buddhism and Buddhists, but everything to do with political expediency.“Lawyers for Liberty therefore calls upon the state and religious authorities to stop this bullying and witch hunting of Shiite Muslims which, if they were to continue, will inevitably lead to similar religious vigilantism and violence against Shiism, as a as seen in Pakistan, Indonesia and Egypt,” its co-founder Eric Paulsen said in a statement.‘No crime or violence committed’Paulsen noted that even if the state do not agree with Shiite teachings, it should bear in mind that it is “a vulnerable minority religious sect that has not committed any criminal offence or acts of violence”.It therefore should earn protection under the the supreme law of Malaysia, the Federal Constitution. The constitution provides for fundamental liberties, including the freedom of religion, equality and non-discrimination, Paulsen (right) pointed out.“It is not the business of the state to proclaim the illegitimacy of any religion or belief according to its own whims and fancies and with no basis under law, just because the religion or belief is different from ‘Islam’ (as the authorities interpret it) or other officially recognised religions or beliefs, ” he said.The continuing hate speeches and demonisation of Shiites, Paulsen added, were just an arrogant display of arbitrary power. /149
source : malaysiakini
Tuesday
17 December 2013
8:30:00 PM
489670
The government must stop its campaign against Shiite Muslims for the sake of political mileage as it spells persecution, says the Lawyers for Liberty movement.