Africa: The New Host of Anti-Shi’ism?

A Shia Muslim man was shot killed in a ritual program on May 5^th, 2013. Musa Abubakar, a Shia Muslim man was targeted in the annual birthday of Lady Fatima, the Prophet Muhammad’s daughter, in Suleja town of Niger State. He died on spot and the shooters drove away.

The Shia Muslims of the area have been celebrating this peaceful ritual for the last 15 years with no opposition from any group. Now, as anti-Shia violence is growing in different parts of the world, African Shia fear that the trend is spreading in their communities.

Some sources estimate that almost 10% of Muslims in Africa are Shia. SRW hopes this incident does not open doors to an anti-Shia trend in Africa. It is crucial for local governments and authorities to investigate the terror and prevent future Shia rights violations.