K
Kenshin Uesugi
Guest
Saturday December 18, 2010
Group of 200 Shi’ite followers held in raid
Other news & views
Compiled by Lester Kong
A GROUP of 200 Shi’ite followers have been arrested by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais), reported Utusan Malaysia. The arrests were made during a raid at the fourth floor of a shophouse in Taman Sri Gombak, Batu Caves in Selangor on Thursday.
Among those arrested in the 10.15pm raid were 75 men and 35 women – locals, Indonesians, Myanmars and Pakistanis – were nabbed. The rest were children. Also held were the congregation’s two leaders, one of them an Iranian.
Dozens of other members climbed out of windows to avoid being arrested. Members of the group, which called itself Hauzah Ar Ridha Alaihissalam, included lecturers, students of higher learning institutions, lawyers and government employees.
Jais director Datuk Muhammad Khusrin Munawi called the group “fanatics and a threat to national security” whose members were led to believe that other Islamic sects were infidels. Muhammad Khusrin said the arrests were the largest of its kind of deviant groups in the country.
He added that the department believed similar cells were active in other states. Shi’ite teachings are outlawed under the Administration of Islamic Law Enactment 1989 for deviating from Sunni Islam views of aqidah and syariah.
