Most people in the world are not aware
of how nasty the Malaysian religious authority treat Muslims who do
not follow the official Sunni sect. A lot of Muslim from other sects
have been insulted, degraded, hurled to courts under fabricated
charges, their association disbanded, face jail time and being placed
in reform schools to force convert them to Sunnism.
Taqiyya has been heavily used and practiced in the Malaysian society, by not only the Shias but also
non-Shafii Sunnis, Sufis, Ahmadis, Ismailis and people from other
Islamic sects. I am aware that non-Muslims also faced
prosecution in the Malaysian society.
I am not only interested in researching
sects and religions other that the Shia Ithna Asharis, but I am also
interested to study how religious people uses propaganda as a mean
(mechanism) to promote the superiority of their faith. An
interesting case study would be to look at how the propaganda is being used by the Malaysian Sunnis
of the Shafii sect for over two
decades now to criminalise its Shia minority.
Unfortunately, since most of the
resources are in Malay language, people don't get the sense of what
is going on in that tiny country. English language newspapers and
magazines over there don't really cover things that are sectarian in
nature about Muslims.
Whenever I get times, I will translate resources (videos, audios, texts) from Malay to English that I find
interesting enough.
The following is the first part of the
translation of the most recent audio about the Syiah Imamiah in Malaysia
Syiah -Madhab or Religion.
Lol at the horror music being played in the beginning.
The narrator started with saying “that the biggest problem with the Shia/Syiah is them claiming that whoever disbelieve in their 12 Imams are out of the true path.
One of the Malaysia Sunni religious figure said “Those twelve Imams of the Shias are also known in the Sunni books of hadiths”
Second Sunni Religious figure said “The Sunni Imam Shafii said if I can trust everyone in the world, I will never ever trust/believe a Shia”
The third person was heard questioning “The Prophet's companions! Should we not hold to the Prophet's companions or should we hold to the people who came later”
The subtitle had a label displaying that this was a recap from last week. [What was on last week?]
The camera then panned to the main character/speaker. The speaker started with the perfunctory bismillah, a mini Dua, salawat and Salam. He didn't waste any time but went straight into the propaganda mode
“The Syiah, just saying it [the name syiah], will take our mind to number of issue that is unpleasant to ears/hear, such as, nikah mut'ah, hitting your body until injured (self-flagellation) are a few of the activities most commonly identified with the syiah. [he emphasize his sentence by using the word synonym to draw the image of Shisim consisting of only the act of self-flagellation and muta].
“Our nation which is based on the belief or the teaching of the Sunnah Wal Jamaah, all these matters [he meant the self-flagellation and the muta] can be described as weird/strange and bizarre from the original teaching of Islam. “
“However, do we know if the belief of the syiah is only centered/revolve around both of these issues? Or is there something further than this? That involves the question of the foundation/base of the religion or the aqeedah”
“In this exclusive episode we will show (investigate) the syiah – a madhab or a new religion” the journalist ends here (at two minutes mark).
Lol at the horror music being played in the beginning.
The narrator started with saying “that the biggest problem with the Shia/Syiah is them claiming that whoever disbelieve in their 12 Imams are out of the true path.
One of the Malaysia Sunni religious figure said “Those twelve Imams of the Shias are also known in the Sunni books of hadiths”
Second Sunni Religious figure said “The Sunni Imam Shafii said if I can trust everyone in the world, I will never ever trust/believe a Shia”
The third person was heard questioning “The Prophet's companions! Should we not hold to the Prophet's companions or should we hold to the people who came later”
The subtitle had a label displaying that this was a recap from last week. [What was on last week?]
The camera then panned to the main character/speaker. The speaker started with the perfunctory bismillah, a mini Dua, salawat and Salam. He didn't waste any time but went straight into the propaganda mode
“The Syiah, just saying it [the name syiah], will take our mind to number of issue that is unpleasant to ears/hear, such as, nikah mut'ah, hitting your body until injured (self-flagellation) are a few of the activities most commonly identified with the syiah. [he emphasize his sentence by using the word synonym to draw the image of Shisim consisting of only the act of self-flagellation and muta].
“Our nation which is based on the belief or the teaching of the Sunnah Wal Jamaah, all these matters [he meant the self-flagellation and the muta] can be described as weird/strange and bizarre from the original teaching of Islam. “
“However, do we know if the belief of the syiah is only centered/revolve around both of these issues? Or is there something further than this? That involves the question of the foundation/base of the religion or the aqeedah”
“In this exclusive episode we will show (investigate) the syiah – a madhab or a new religion” the journalist ends here (at two minutes mark).
Enter the first ignorant Sunni Mullah. He said, “We don't question the
Fiqh of other madhabs. We only question that madhab when the issue is
about the aqeedah. The most serious problem between the Sunni and the
Shia is the question of the aqeedah and not so much on the mut'ah. That
(Mut'ah) is also a problem but the biggest problem is still aqeedah.
Their aqeedah is very different from the Sunni in such matters as the
companions, the question of Quran, believing in their Imams (as wajib),
and anyone who disbelieve in their Imams are lost and in the state of
Kufr etc. That makes them (Syiah) very different from us.”
The video is now showing a group of children in the midst of performing the matam (mourning rites by hitting the chest) following the recitation of a sad latmeyah. The video displayed the following subtitle “Followers of Syiah in Malaysia”.
The narrator voice is heard saying “ What you are witnessing here is not something that is happening in Iran. But these people are Malaysian citizen who have chosen to become the followers of Syiah.” [just translating what he said. I know it sounds stupid but that is what he said.]
Then the video shows a group of shirtless foreign men (not Malaysian) performing the bloody matam. Blood can be seen trickling down on the front of their chests.
The narrator then continued “Hitting your body until injured while listening to poetries or poems on the tenth of Muharram is supposedly to symbolize the killing of Hussain, Prophet's grandson.” [he was rudely implying that this is supposedly a Shia myth of some sort]. The identity of Hussein [his killing] is commonly pictured [portrayed] by the Syiah worldwide.”
Next, the narrator cheerfully said the following “Generally, in Malaysia, the followers of this path (the Shias), are always tied to the deviancy (being deviant). ”
The video is now showing Malaysian Shias being detained at Ar Ridha center on the eve of Ashura in the year 2010 (we also have videos of this unfortunate incident).
The narrator can be heard saying “On 17th of December year 2010, The JAIS (Selangor Islamic Religious Authority), raided the Shia Headquarter in Gombak. About 200 syiahs were detained and arrested from this operation, including women and children.”
The camera is now showing syiah women dressed in all black hejab being asked to squat on the floor.
The narrator continued by saying “From this incident, a follow-up raid was planned last may when a group of Syiah gathered together for remembering Sayyida Fatima Az Zahra, also in Gombak”
A written question was being displayed in the propaganda documentary for you to reflect on “What really made them (Syiah) be considered deviant”
The video is now showing a group of children in the midst of performing the matam (mourning rites by hitting the chest) following the recitation of a sad latmeyah. The video displayed the following subtitle “Followers of Syiah in Malaysia”.
The narrator voice is heard saying “ What you are witnessing here is not something that is happening in Iran. But these people are Malaysian citizen who have chosen to become the followers of Syiah.” [just translating what he said. I know it sounds stupid but that is what he said.]
Then the video shows a group of shirtless foreign men (not Malaysian) performing the bloody matam. Blood can be seen trickling down on the front of their chests.
The narrator then continued “Hitting your body until injured while listening to poetries or poems on the tenth of Muharram is supposedly to symbolize the killing of Hussain, Prophet's grandson.” [he was rudely implying that this is supposedly a Shia myth of some sort]. The identity of Hussein [his killing] is commonly pictured [portrayed] by the Syiah worldwide.”
Next, the narrator cheerfully said the following “Generally, in Malaysia, the followers of this path (the Shias), are always tied to the deviancy (being deviant). ”
The video is now showing Malaysian Shias being detained at Ar Ridha center on the eve of Ashura in the year 2010 (we also have videos of this unfortunate incident).
The narrator can be heard saying “On 17th of December year 2010, The JAIS (Selangor Islamic Religious Authority), raided the Shia Headquarter in Gombak. About 200 syiahs were detained and arrested from this operation, including women and children.”
The camera is now showing syiah women dressed in all black hejab being asked to squat on the floor.
The narrator continued by saying “From this incident, a follow-up raid was planned last may when a group of Syiah gathered together for remembering Sayyida Fatima Az Zahra, also in Gombak”
A written question was being displayed in the propaganda documentary for you to reflect on “What really made them (Syiah) be considered deviant”
The documentary continued by exploring what makes the Shia deviant. The
horror music intensified and became louder. Another question is being
displayed “What is Shia?”
The video is showing pictures of people performing matam who had their heads bleeding. The narrator started speaking about the definition of syiah “Syiah from the perspective of the people of Sunnah wal Jamaah, are those people who have a number of issues/problems with their aqeedah. For example, the Shia Imamiah, have exaggerated set of belief”
The video has been showing non-stop images and videos of bloody matam. But now it panned on drawings/pictures of all twelves Imams sitting together.
The narrator continued by explaining what the exaggerated set of belief is “they (Shia Imamiah) believe in the twelve Imams as contained in their books. And among them (Syiah) are those who make takfir on the companions of the Prophet.”
The video is showing a car traveling to a place in the state of Kedah (Pendang), Malaysia. “To further understand them, we are traveling to met those who are involved with the Syiah, those who practice the teaching of Syiah”
The horror music intensified.
Video is showing a young man going towards the fence near a gate of a home. The man is heard asking “Is this the house of Abu Hassan?” The voice from the inside of the house said no. So the man asked again the house of the person he is looking for.
The narrator showed us a sad picture of Abdullah Hassan. The narrator introduced him to us “Abdullah Hassan is a very famous Syiah in Malaysia. He is 64 years old. This man is practicing his syiah belief openly without hiding it.”
The horror music intensified.
The video is now showing two men with a camera capturing pictures secretly from a car. The narrator explained that “Abdullah Hassan is among the Syiah Imamiah who has been practicing his faith in this country the longest. And without any appointment whatsoever we visited his building”
The video is now showing the camera man stepping out of the car taking pictures of the owner's house and his land.
The narrator continued saying “in Pendang Kedah we are to see him and to experience his belief that is being propagated by him” [seems a very stupid things to say to another Muslim. But remember that this is a propaganda documentary]
“We were in luck when he was willing to let us and our crew in, to see what is being hoarded in his home” [Jerks].
The camera showed interior of his home. Just simple carpets, a few furnitures and then the narrator exclaimed “When we saw it, we realized how serious this man is practicing his syiah belief.” [I didn't see anything that was threatening. A small mimbar, a nice chair, some columns, nice decorations with flowers, pictures of quranic verses hanged on the wall, pictures of Hussayn ridding his white horse carrying a banner with his face being blanked out by lights, emblem of Iran, pictures of Khomenei, khamenei, flowers, and drawings of lady of light, pictures of all the twelve Imams]
They sat down to interview the old man.
The video is showing pictures of people performing matam who had their heads bleeding. The narrator started speaking about the definition of syiah “Syiah from the perspective of the people of Sunnah wal Jamaah, are those people who have a number of issues/problems with their aqeedah. For example, the Shia Imamiah, have exaggerated set of belief”
The video has been showing non-stop images and videos of bloody matam. But now it panned on drawings/pictures of all twelves Imams sitting together.
The narrator continued by explaining what the exaggerated set of belief is “they (Shia Imamiah) believe in the twelve Imams as contained in their books. And among them (Syiah) are those who make takfir on the companions of the Prophet.”
The video is showing a car traveling to a place in the state of Kedah (Pendang), Malaysia. “To further understand them, we are traveling to met those who are involved with the Syiah, those who practice the teaching of Syiah”
The horror music intensified.
Video is showing a young man going towards the fence near a gate of a home. The man is heard asking “Is this the house of Abu Hassan?” The voice from the inside of the house said no. So the man asked again the house of the person he is looking for.
The narrator showed us a sad picture of Abdullah Hassan. The narrator introduced him to us “Abdullah Hassan is a very famous Syiah in Malaysia. He is 64 years old. This man is practicing his syiah belief openly without hiding it.”
The horror music intensified.
The video is now showing two men with a camera capturing pictures secretly from a car. The narrator explained that “Abdullah Hassan is among the Syiah Imamiah who has been practicing his faith in this country the longest. And without any appointment whatsoever we visited his building”
The video is now showing the camera man stepping out of the car taking pictures of the owner's house and his land.
The narrator continued saying “in Pendang Kedah we are to see him and to experience his belief that is being propagated by him” [seems a very stupid things to say to another Muslim. But remember that this is a propaganda documentary]
“We were in luck when he was willing to let us and our crew in, to see what is being hoarded in his home” [Jerks].
The camera showed interior of his home. Just simple carpets, a few furnitures and then the narrator exclaimed “When we saw it, we realized how serious this man is practicing his syiah belief.” [I didn't see anything that was threatening. A small mimbar, a nice chair, some columns, nice decorations with flowers, pictures of quranic verses hanged on the wall, pictures of Hussayn ridding his white horse carrying a banner with his face being blanked out by lights, emblem of Iran, pictures of Khomenei, khamenei, flowers, and drawings of lady of light, pictures of all the twelve Imams]
They sat down to interview the old man.
Thanks so much for this detailed entry! I am working academically on the situation of 'other sects' in Southeast Asia and your text and comments are very insightful, thank you! Where are you based, may I ask? I am traveling to Singapore, KL and JKT soon to find out more...was hoping you know s.o. who could help me with more insider knowledge...? Any way to contact you?
ReplyDeleteSorry, you probably prefer the other way round and to contact me - I'd be very grateful to have the opportunity to hear more of your opinion. thanks! southeastasia1982@yahoo.de
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. I don't usually volunteer to meet anyone from Internet.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of Insider knowledge are you looking for? I am almost certain I wouldn't be able to help you much. I am not really an academic or a researcher. I have also made a topic on this http://researchintoothersects.blogspot.com/
The other thing I wish to inform you is that my blog is based on my personal interest which is researching other sects and religion. I am not doing this for anyone else. Mostly for personal satisfaction.
I tried to share interesting facts with my readers because I think there is genuine curiosity from people to get to the bottom of the issue and not at the superficial level (which is the current state of art).
Thanks for your comment.
Many thanks for your reply! Sorry for the slow reaction, I've been traveling and wanted to follow your restructuring before I comment again - well done, it's more easily accessible now. Your blog is such an interesting source for me and I can't express how valuable your translation work is. I don't have a set research question yet but I am, as you say, genuinely interested and would like to dig deeper into the discussions on the various groups. I wonder how and for what reasons some differences, which do not seem so essential to me from afar, get very important.
ReplyDeleteWe share similar interests, an exchange would certainly be extremely interesting for me. I am not sure if I have anything to offer you apart from my interest and questions. If you send me an email I'll send you my profiles and you can see if you're interested in more contact, otherwise I'll just remain an avid reader of your blog :)
I've responded to your email. Feel free to leave a message here if you need to get in touch with me. I'll try to help you in anyway I can.
ReplyDelete