Saturday
Sep052009
Shias in Saudi
Issandr El Amrani
From Brian Whitaker's blog:
The HRW report is here, it condemns the "systematic discrimination and hostility towards Shia citizens."
Meanwhile, in Egypt, officials are leveling accusations against Iran for spreading Shiism in the country. No doubt this is true -- Iran after all wants to spread its "revolution" and with it Shia ideas, just as Saudis and Egyptians have tried to spread Wahhabi or Azharite influence. But of course it also means increased discrimination against Shia Egyptians.
Hot on the heels of the Human Rights Watch report about discrimination against Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia, I received this photo of a Shia Ismaili mosque in Khobar. Note the concrete blocks placed in front of the entrance.
According to my source, security forces stormed the building yesterday and welded its door shut. They arrested the caretaker and about a dozen worshippers who refused to leave.
The HRW report is here, it condemns the "systematic discrimination and hostility towards Shia citizens."
Meanwhile, in Egypt, officials are leveling accusations against Iran for spreading Shiism in the country. No doubt this is true -- Iran after all wants to spread its "revolution" and with it Shia ideas, just as Saudis and Egyptians have tried to spread Wahhabi or Azharite influence. But of course it also means increased discrimination against Shia Egyptians.
Reader Comments (1)
One day will come when the saudi rigime will fall down if it continued this reprassion on saudi shias and other minority groups. In fact Wahabbies are a minority in saudia arabia , as it is a mixture of many sects Hanafi , Shafii , Maliki , Hanbali , shia , ismaili and zaydiah but they are in power. One day they will fall inshAllah.