Shia Oppression in Egypt: Now More than Before

Wednesday, 10 April 2013, 11:36 am
Press Release: Shia Rights Watch


Shia Oppression in Egypt: Now More than Before

9 April 2013

Egypt, a home country of many scholars and place birth of civilizations, is threatening its brilliant history by targeting Egyptian Shia.

Home to the Fatimid Empire, one of the most important imperials that was established and led by Shia Muslim leaders, it is publicly fighting the Shia faith. Change of government in Egypt was meant to bring much needed democracy and freedom to the country. Shia Muslims, as any other Egyptian, hoped the new government would keep its promises for freedom and democracy. It would become a place where Shia could peacefully practice their faith. However, now, more than before Shia Muslims are being arrested, suppressed, and advertised as Non-Muslim.

Although the Egyptian Constitution, under Article 46, provides for freedom of belief and the practice of religious rites, Shia Muslims are a minority group that is not allowed to practice their faith in public or in private Islamic centers. Salafi's and government backed clerics speared hate messages among the public to the point where most Egyptians think Shia are not even Muslim even though they believe in the same God, Quran, practice Hadj, daily prayers and Ramadhan fasting. Every day, more and more pictures, webinars and ads are posted on the internet in display of the anti-Shi’ism is growth in Egypt.


Sheikh Muhmmad Hassa, a well-known Salafi cleric, states in his TV interview that Hussainyas, or Shia Islamic Centers are not welcome in Egypt. He insists Egypt should be cleansed from Shia. Salafi clerics clearly and openly forbid Shia practices in this country.

As the result of anti- Shia movements in Egypt, many Shia- Muslims were arrested and detained for practicing their faith. Muhammad Asfour and Seyed Muhammd are among those arrested in an Ashura commemoration last year. The judge told Muhammad Asfour he had two options: to go to jail or to change his faith. In another incident, a Shia man was arrested for teaching Shia faith. His wife was divorced by court and forced to marry another man. The Egyptian government is violating many human rights articles by forcing Shia to change faith, interfering with Shia private lives, arresting and detaining them and also spreading hate messages in media and public.

Shia Rights Watch is concerned about Shia rights violations in Egypt, especially since the beginning of the Mursi government. SRW insists Shia Muslims, just like any other citizen, are entitled freedom of religion and thought. No government, religion or organization can take away any other groups’ rights. Human rights have been reported poor in Egypt and Shia rights violations are adding to the problem. SRW believes the Egyptian government must protect and defend Shia Muslims’ rights. The foundation of the new government should not be based on discrimination and hate, but on freedom and respect.

ENDS

By: Admin On 4/10/2013 09:37:00 am

Continue Reading

Execution of Sheikh Al-Nimr Prepares Eradication of the Ulama of Islam

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - On the following of demanding the death sentence for Sheikh Nimr Baqir Al-Nimr by Saudi Attorney General, Grand Ayatollah Alavi Gorgani issued an important statement.

The statement calls the action of Saudi Judiciary an inequitable action for all Muslims both Shia and Sunni and states: “I urge Muslims and freedom seekers of the world particularly Muslims in Saudi Arabia to protest against the Saudi administration”.

Full text of the statement is as follows:

بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم

من المؤمنین رجال صدقوا ما عاهدوا الله علیه فمنهم من قضی نحبه و منهم من ینتظر.

We have been aware the Public Prosecutor's Office in Saudi Arabia, in an unprecedented and dangerous action, has demanded the death penalty for prominent Cleric “Hujjatul-Islam Sheikh Nimr Baqir Al-Nimr” for so-called ‘waging war on Allah’ (Muharibah).

I believe it as an inequitable action for all Muslims both Shia and Sunni and I know arrogant power dictate it to Saudi Monarchy, but it is to eradicate the Ulama of Islam and safeguards of the religion of Allah that it Islam, so I condemn it and urge Muslims and freedom seekers of the world particularly Muslims in Saudi Arabia to protest against the Saudi administration.

Mohammad Ali Alavi Gorgani

Prominent Shia Cleric “Hujjatul-Islam Sheikh Nimr Baqir Al-Nimr” last week, 8 months after his illegal detention, was present in Special Criminal Court to investigate terrorism cases in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

According to ABNA, the representative of the Attorney General indicted several charges against Sheikh Nimr Baqir Al-Nimr, most notably are "incentive in Qatif," "draw foreign intervention and support of the uprising in Bahrain," and asked the court to sentence 55-year Al-Nimr to death for Muharibah.

By: Mohammed On 4/04/2013 12:49:00 pm

Continue Reading

Imam al-Mahdi (as); How He Guide us

There was a pious man called Syed Muhammad Jabal Amili who was traveling through the desert with a caravan of people, when he got lost.

Syed Muhammad Jabal Amili searched and searched for the caravan but could not find them. It became dark as night set in. He was all alone in the hot desert, tired, hungry and frightened.

He was about to give up and prepare himself for death when he suddenly saw some water. He went to the water, drank some and then did wudhu (ablution) and offered his Salaat (prayer).

After his Salaat he did not have any more strength and lay there waiting for death.

All of a sudden he saw a person riding a horse getting closer and closer to him.

When the horse rider reached Syed Muhammad Jabal Amili he said Salaam to him and asked him what the matter was. Syed Muhammad Jabal Amili explained that he had lost his caravan and was hungry.

Horse rider asked him why he did not eat the melons that were lying beside him. Syed Muhammad Jabal Amili asked the rider not to make fun of him as he had searched all over for food.

Horse rider said he was not joking, and ask to look behind him. Syed Muhammad Jabal Amili looked and there were three melons.

Imam al-Mahdi (as): How he guide us?Horse rider then told him to eat one of them and to take the other two with him and pointed out the direction he was to go in. He also told Syed Muhammad Jabal Amili that at about sunset he would reach a tent and from there he would be guided to his caravan.

Then Horse rider disappeared. Syed Muhammad Jabal Amili says that was when he realized that it was our 12th Imam, Imam al-Mahdi (as).

Syed Muhammad Jabal Amili did as he was told and sure enough the next day at sunset he reached the tent and was directed to his caravan.

The duties of each and every Muslim in the time of Ghaibat-e-Kubra (Major Occultaion) is:

1. To be the caretakers of Islam.
2. To pray for the safety of 12th Imam, Imam al-Mahdi (as) and give Sadaqah for his safety.
3. Ask Allah (SWT) to make 12th Imam, Imam al-Mahdi (as) appearance soon, so that he may come and fill the world with truth and peace.
4. Whenever the name of 12th Imam, Imam al-Mahdi (as) is said, you should stand, placing your right hand on your head and bow your head. You should also recite Salawaat after his name.

Conclusion: Holy Prophet Muhammed (p.b.u.h) has said that if someone dies without knowing the Imam (as) of his time, his death is that of an unbeliever. We must therefore carry out our duties to our 12th Imam, Imam al-Mahdi (as) who is still alive and in Ghaibat (concealment).
Although we cannot see our 12th Imam, Imam al-Mahdi (as), but he can see us and knows when we are in need of his help and comes to help us.

By: Admin On 9/06/2012 12:03:00 pm

Continue Reading

Explosions target Shi’a districts in Iraq

A fire engine arrives at the scene as Iraqi security gather following twin car bombs in the Karrada area of the capital Baghdad (Photo: AFP/Ali Al-Saadi)

Two car bombs exploded on Tuesday in Karrada, a predominantly Shi’a district of Baghdad, killing at least 21, according to the Associated Press.

Storeowners, passersby and six policemen were killed in the detonation.

A second bomb exploded near a passport office a few blocks away from the Iraqi Interior Ministry’s Major Crimes Unit offices.

According to officials, the second bomb killed 15 and wounded 35.

As police forces helped victims of the attack, Al-Qaeda members dressed as policemen entered a nearby station where fellow operatives were being detained. Their attempts at an escape were, however, reportedly foiled before they could free any prisoners.

The attack is the most recent in a wave of violence in Iraq that has claimed the lives of approximately 245 people in July with no signs of an end to the sustained violence.

Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks, as the militant organisation attempts to regain its foothold after losing a substantial presence in the Anbar province leading up to the withdrawal of United States troops in December 2011.

In an audio recording earlier this month Al-Qaeda military leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi promised to free prisoners and kill those prosecuting them.

He also said Al-Qaeda would return to the lands it was previously forced out from and asked Muslims around the world to join him in “jihad” in Iraq against the Shi’a.

The attacks happened during a month where thousands of Shi’a pilgrims descended on the shrine of the Imam Hussein in Karbala. The Imam Hussein is the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, and a revered religious figure in Shi’ism.

By: Admin On 8/02/2012 03:46:00 am

Continue Reading

Saudi Continues its Suppression Policy Against Peaceful Demonstrations and Arrest some of Activists

  Arabic Network For Human Rights Information condemns the continuity of the Saudi regime to use, Thursday night of July 26, 2012, excessive violence and power against the peaceful demonstrations, which organized by the people of “Qatif” that calls for the release of the detainees in violation of the law. They were arrested as they expressed their opinions and peaceful activity. The use of violence resulted in several injures and arrests.

The Saudi security forces used the excessive powers against the peaceful protesters during a peaceful demonstrations that calls for the release of some detainees. In Qatif and fter a long time of non-existence of the security, the security forces and armed vehicles started to surrounding the protesters and used the tear gas bombs to dispense a hundreds of protesters.

They also use rubber and live bullets, which resulted in several deep injuries among youth as well as a large number of arrest, among them was the “Mohamed El-Shakhowry”, the rights activist, who was shot then sent to the military hospital.

Previously, The Saudi regime accused him and 22 persons, known as the “23” group, arbitrary accused them due to their participation in peaceful demonstrations in the eastern side. Such accusations include inciting riots, demagoguery assemble, obstruction of traffic within neighborhoods, the destruction of public and private property, possession of firearms illegally, and opened fire against citizens and security men, covered by innocent citizens and try to drag them into absurd confrontations with security forces in implementation of foreign agendas as well as the security services raided a number of houses and unlawfully searched them claiming that they search for wanted people and the arrest of a number of young people in their homes without press any charges.

It is worthy to be noted that the Eastern side, Qatif in particular, “Shiite Majority”, witness continued protest since a long time.

The protest increased after the arrest of “Nemr Baqer Nemr” the clergyman. The protests calls for social and political reforms and to stop the sectarian assault against the Shiite in “Saudi Arabia” and the to allow them to perform their rituals freely and to release the political detainees of “Qatif. 

By: Mohammed On 8/01/2012 06:52:00 pm

Continue Reading

The tense situation of Egypt’s forgotten Shia minority

 

Sitting cross-legged on the threadbare sofa in his living room, Abu Hasan gestures to the bare walls behind him, apologising for the sparseness of his home. He breathlessly explains that himself, his wife, and their three children had to flee their previous apartment here in Alexandria only a few days ago after a neighbour posted a note under their door threatening to kills them.

“This is third time we have had to move in four years,” he says, offering me a plate of steaming bamiye (okra).

Abu Hasan and his family are Shia – a small and marginalised minority in predominantly Sunni Egypt. He says that they face daily persecution and victimisation because of their beliefs.

Since Mohammed Morsi was declared President of Egypt, there has been growing speculation about what the future of Egypt's Coptic minority will be under an Islamist government, but little has been said about the even smaller (and arguably equally threatened) Shia community. In the run up to the elections, I spent time in both Cairo and Alexandria speaking to the Egyptian Shia community and gauging their response to the likelihood of a takeover by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Shia population and their rights

Although there are no official statistics about the number of Shia in Egypt, it has been estimated that they constitute roughly one per cent of the population: around one million people. Because of their relative obscurity, and the fact they tend to shy away from public or political activism, they are often overlooked in discussions about Egypt’s religious minorities.

“There are no Shia in Egypt, we are a Sunni country,” said one woman I spoke to outside Cairo’s Al Hussein mosque.

Shias say that they are ostracised and persecuted by Sunnis, and that they are afraid to publicly admit their confessional status since they believe it will only invite more prejudice. The Mubarak regime was especially intolerant towards Shias, and they were regularly arrested and interrogated during his 30-year reign. In 2009, more than 300 Shias were imprisoned by state security without official justification.

“Before the revolution, the situation of Shia was critical in Egypt, but since the revolution we have had a light margin of freedom,” Sayed Gamal Hashemi, a friend of Abu Hasan, tells me over a cup of heavily-sweetened tea.

But when asked whether Shias or Christians have more rights in post-revolutionary Egypt, Hashemi is quick to answer: “Christians,” he says, “of course.”

Misinterpretation and confusion abound among both Sunni and Shia communities, making reconciliation or acceptance between them an increasingly challenging task. One young Sunni student, who asked not to be named, claimed that Shia were “kufar” (infidels) because they didn’t follow the prophet Muhammed (s.a.w.w); while a Shia man (who also asked to remain anonymous) believed that it is “halal” (religiously ordained) for Sunni to kill Shia. Neither claims are true, but they reflect the extent of mistrust between the two communities.

Despite this, the number of Shia in Egypt seems to be growing, and there have been several cases of Sunnis converting to Shiism. Mahmoud Jabr, one such convert and the Secretary General of Egypt’s Hizb-ut-Tahreer (Liberation Party) – one of many grassroots political parties that have sprung up since the revolution – says he had his passport confiscated by the Mubarak regime because of his activism.

“The Egyptian constitution will never accept a Shia party,” he says, “the media misrepresent us.”

The “politicisation” of the Sunni-Shia divide through the proxies of Iran and Saudi Arabia is widespread in Egyptian society, Jabr claims, when in reality the vast majority of Egyptian Shia have no personal or political ties to the Islamic Republic. And indeed, when I approached the president of Cairo’s Al Hussein mosque – where more than 200 Shia were forcibly prevented from celebrating Ashura in December 2011 – his viewpoint is surprisingly succinct:

“If they want to practice their rituals, then they should go back to their own country,” he states, ignoring the fact that most Egyptian Shias are exactly that: Egyptian.

Early days of Shia in Egypt

And yet Egypt remains a country with strong Shia ties. The Fatimid dynasty, who ruled Egypt from AD 969 - 1171 and founded the city of Cairo, were exclusively Shia. It wasn’t until after the fall of the Fatimids that Egyptians began to convert to the Sunna, and the cultural legacy of Ahl al-Beit (descendants of the Prophet Muhammed, literally ‘people of the house’) remains strong even today. No further testament needs to be made to the strength of Egyptians reverence for the Ahl al-Beit than the abundance of shrines and mosques dedicated to Hussein, Hasan, Zainab, Ali, and other Shia Imams.

Wahhabis and Shia

But there are concerns among the Shias I spoke to that the rise of Islamist movements in Egypt since the fall of Mubarak, especially the omnipresence of the Muslim Brotherhood, will result in even fewer rights for their community.

Shias might not face the same extent of persecution as the more visible Coptic minority, but it was evident from the people I spoke to that they are equally not tolerated by the more extreme factions in Egyptian society.

“We cannot have Shias in our mosque because of their extremist views,” said the head of Alexandria’s Al-Fattah mosque, a stronghold for fundamentalist Salafis.

When asked if he would support the construction of a Shia mosque to allow Shias to pray in their own space, he looks at me wide-eyed, as if surprised by the question.

“No.”

It is a little word, but it says so much about the current state of Egypt, and about the country’s forgotten minority.

By: Mohammed On 8/01/2012 06:47:00 pm

Continue Reading

The Picture of Saudi Arabia’s Freedom Seekers

Pro-democracy Saudis have been subjected to a bloody regime crackdown, supported by a media blackout hiding the facts of the regime practices against demonstrators.

Large detention campaigns and death penalties have been organized by regime forces against freedom seekers, and human rights activists in the country.

By: Mohammed On 8/01/2012 04:22:00 am

Continue Reading

Iraq car bombings kill 19 in central Baghdad

At least 19 people have been killed in two car bomb explosions in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, officials say.

The blasts happened within minutes of each other in the central Shia district of Karrada in the middle of the afternoon rush hour.

The first bomb exploded outside a restaurant and a bakery in al-Andalus Square, and the second outside a court opposite a major police headquarters.

More than 240 people have been killed this month in militant attacks in Iraq.

Sunni insurgents linked to al-Qaeda appear to have been behind most of the violence, including a wave of bombings and shootings in Baghdad and towns to the north on 23 July which left at least 107 dead.

Clouds of black smoke rose above the centre of the capital on Tuesday after the latest bombings, which also injured more than 50 people.

"We were in a patrol when we heard the first explosion. The second explosion hit another square, and we went to help," Ahmed Hassan, a policeman, told the Reuters news agency.

"There was a minibus with six dead passengers inside it."

At least five policemen were also among those killed, officials said.

An interior ministry official told the AFP news agency that the first attack had been carried out by a suicide bomber, while the local TV news channel al-Sharqiya said they had both been suicide bombings.

By: Admin On 8/01/2012 12:44:00 am

Continue Reading

Terror strike on Israeli diplomat: Chronology of events

Following is the chronology of events related to the February 13 terror strike on Israeli diplomat Tal Yehoshua for which Indian journalist Syed Mohammed Ahmad Kazmi was charge-sheeted today for his alleged role in it: March 6, 2012: Special Cell of Delhi Police arrests Kazmi, who claims to have been writing for an Iranian publication, for his alleged role in the attack. March 7: Delhi court remands Kazmi in police custody till March 27. March 16: Kazmi moves Delhi court alleging that Israel's intelligence agency Mossad is interrogating him and he is being harassed in custody. March 17: Court issues open warrant against four Iranian nationals including Masod Sedaghatzadeh, Housan Afshar, Syed Ali Mehdi Sadr and Mohammed Reza Abolghasemi. March 20: Mossad has not questioned Kazmi, Delhi Police tells court. March 24: Amidst allegations of custodial harassment, Kazmi sent to judicial custody till April 7. March 30: Kazmi seeks bail. April 3: Court dismisses Kazmi's bail plea. May 23: Court orders to produce Kazmi physically before it and not via video-conferencing for extension of his JC. June 2: Police given three months more time to complete ongoing investigation into the case on the ground that it is probing international angle. July 13: Kazmi moves fresh bail plea which was rejected. July 17: Sessions court sets aside the magisterial court's order, which extended the probe period in the case. July 19: Police tells court it is gathering details of the terror strike on an Israeli national on February 13 in Georgia to find out if there was a larger conspiracy behind the attack on a Jerusalem diplomat here. July 20: The CMM extends the probe period to 180 days. July 31: Charge sheet filed in Delhi court indicting Kazmi of conspiring with foreign elements and others for the terror strike.


Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/terror-strike-on-israeli-diplomat-chronology-of-events/1032433.html

By: Admin On 8/01/2012 12:41:00 am

Continue Reading

Oppression upon Muslims in Burma: Video

By: Admin On 7/30/2012 05:21:00 pm

Continue Reading