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Shia Axed to Death in Karachi

The Pakistani government has proven yet again that they lack the capacity to protect their own citizens. Militants from the group Sipah-e-Sahaba, also known as Ahl-e-Sunnat-Wal-Jamaat, attacked and killed a member of the Shia community. Ali Raza was murdered with an axe by this group on May 31, 2014. Ali Raza, described as a prominent Shia Muslim in Karachi, was the custodian of Imambargah Moosa Kazim, which is located in the Ferozabad area of Khalid Bin Waleed Road of the city.

The murder of this man, solely on the basis of their religious affiliation is intolerable. Shia Rights Watch wholly condemns the actions taken by these militants.

Moreover, this incident is just the latest in a series of crimes toward Pakistan’s Shia community which have prompted little to no response from the government. Shia Rights Watch condemns the inaction of the Pakistani government as a violation of the rights of Pakistan’s Shia population which composes roughly one third of Pakistan’s population of 180 million people. Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states “Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of person”. It is the obligation of governments to ensure this most basic right is being fulfilled, but here we see that these rights are only granted to certain groups in Pakistan. The international community must call on the Pakistani government and demand that they fulfill the promise they made to each of the people living within its borders when they signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Despite repeated acts of violence against Pakistan’s Shia population, the United States has yet to add Pakistan to its Countries of Particular Concern for violations of religious freedom. Both Shia Rights Watch and the United States Commission for International Religious Freedom have requested that the United States Department of State would add Pakistan to this list.

By Alan Williams

Bomb Explosions Claiming more Lives in Iraq

Bomb explosion in Najaf killed and wounded many Shia Muslims. A parked car exploded in the Shia populated city of Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad and claimed 15 lives.

Two people were killed and 10 wounded in a commercial area in the town of Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad.

Another car bomb hit in the southern city of Nasiriyah, killing one civilian and wounding 18.

Mahmoudiyah’s outdoor market was also attacked killing person and wounding.

Killing Shia majority of Iraq and this country’s pilgrims has become a worrisome that has not been addressed by Iraqi government. SRW is concerned for the ongoing violence in Iraq where more than 1500 people have been killed so far in2014.

Saudi Hands Peaceful Protester Death Sentence

Once again the Saudi Arabian government, in front of the blind eyes of the international community has abused its power and oil wealth to ensure the world would not cover what is happening in their country.

Saudi Arabia, has again demonstrated its apathy toward human rights reform, this time by sentencing to death Shia Muslims who participated in a peaceful protest against religious-based inequality. Saudi Arabia has a long track record of arresting political dissidents and convicting them on spurious charges. On May 27, 2014 and May 28, 2014, the Specialized Criminal Court in Saudi Arabia convicted two young adult Shia Muslims under false charges.  Saudi Arabia has consistently treated the 15 percent of its population that is Shia Muslim as second-class citizens, ignoring their rights. For this reason, Shia Muslims of Saudi Arabia continue to petition their government for equality. The Saudi government responds by disproportionately targeting Shia communities and Shia rights activists with arbitrary arrests and spurious convictions. This time the victims of this inhumane treatment where 26 year old Rida Rabih and 20 year old Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr who were sentenced to death on May 27th and May 28th respectively for their involvement in protests that occurred in the eastern Saudi city of Al-Qatif in early 2011. The message the Saudi government is sending to would-be activists and protestors through these arrests, convictions and sentences is perfectly clear. Peaceful protest and freedom of expression will not be tolerated in Saudi Arabia.

Shia Rights Watch views the actions of the SCC as a violation of Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states “No one shall be subjected arbitrary arrest, detention or exile”. The arbitrary arrest, spurious conviction and excessive punishment violate the rights of these protestors and SRW is calling for these decisions to be overturned. The protesters were exercising their right to express their discontent with a government that has consistently oppressed them over recent years. The death sentences handed down by this court have no place in the 21st century. Shia Rights Watch also calls on the international community to stand with them in condemning these actions.

Shia Muslims are the largest minority group in Saudi Arabia, composing between 15 and 20 percent of the population. Most of the Shia in Saudi Arabia live in the eastern provinces of the country especially around the urban areas of Al-Qatif and Hasa. Shia Muslims have faced widespread repression and discrimination by the ruling government. The uprisings that occurred in 2011 resulted in the arrests of over 900 people, with 300 remaining in jail today.

Anti-Shia Sentiment Simmers Ahead of Indonesia’s Election

Sponsorship and ignorant to Shia rights violations by governmental branches in Indonesia has become a worrisome for many human rights NGOs.

Indonesia is Sunni majority country, with a small yet growing Shia minority. Shia Muslims have been increasingly attacked for practicing their faith, even in the privacy of their homes yet the government of Indonesia is not taking steps to prevent the increasing violations.

            Indonesia has a few branches of government that has either sponsored or ignored the Shia violence. The Council of Ulema. The main role of this council is to provide Fatwa’s (A scholarly point of view of Islamic law) to the people of Indonesia. Shia, Sufi’s, and Ahmadiyya are not allowed in Council of Ulema. This directly goes against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 21 in which Indonesia signed and agreed to protect and maintain. Article 21 states that “Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.: Shia, Sufi, and Ahmadiyya are not given a fair chance to be represented or take part in the government.

            Tardjono Abu Muas, a well know cleric in Indonesia has enabled violations in his speeches. Most of his lectures and sermons seem to be about dissolution of Shia Islam in Indonesia. Muas is the head of Anti Shia Alliance who believes anyone who is deviant from true teaches of Islam, needs to convert or be punished. Tardjono created a conference for Anti-Shia in April of 2014 and openly preached hatred towards Shia, and other sects of Islam he viewed as deviant.

            The government has not done anything to stop or condemn this conference, or any anti Shia hate. The Governor of West Java Province Ahmad Heryawan has publicly supported the Anti Shia Alliance. In fact many government officals was in attendence at this confrence. The Council of Ulema has not spoken out against the conference of this organization. Ahmad bin Zein Al Kaff, the head of the Anti-Heresy Front which is an government branch, said that Indonesia must be cleansed of Shia teaching. At this confrence Muas was also urging people to vote, for non-Shia in the upcoming election. The fear and insecurity that Shia Muslims report from Indonesia prevents them from practicing their right to freedom of religion which is a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Right Article 18.

            The Indonesian government says that will give freedoms of rights and religion but they believe they have to monitor and watch it because they are a Muslim country. This concept of having freedom yet regulating it in a violent style is not considered practical freedom according to Shia Rights Watch . A country cannot give freedom to their citizens yet regulate it by arrestments and punishments of those who practice their right to it.

By Skye Thompson

UN Permanent Members are Among the Most Important Arms Dealers

SIPRI, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, published a troubling report on the increased spending on arms by countries responsible for human rights violations. According to the report, China, Russia and Saudi Arabia are among 23 countries that have more than doubled their military expenditure since 2004. While developing countries are spending more on defense, Western countries such as the U.S. are spending less.

Saudi Arabia’s spending increased by 14 percent and reached $67 billion; Bahrain’s spending increased 26 percent; and Iraq’s spending is up 27 percent.

The report also points out that eight states bordering the Persian Gulf — Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — invest the highest percentage of GDP in armed forces and weapons.

While it is important to know who is buying weapons, it is also critical to know who is selling them. Interestingly, the five U.N. Security Council permanent members — China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States — are among the largest arms dealers.

According to its own documents, ”The purpose of the United Nations is to bring all nations of the world together to work for peace and development, based on the principles of justice, human dignity and the well-being of all people.”

While the U.N. is trying hard to resolve the world’s most difficult problems of violence and conflict, its most influential and powerful members are making money selling arms. The are not just selling arms, but providing services and training to governments with well-known history of human rights violations.

Saudi Arabia, one of the countries to increase its expenditures on weapons, is one of the most repressive monarchies in the world. Its laws relegate women to second class status; it mistreats migrant workers and oppresses minorities; it trains and arms terrorist groups in the Middle East. Yet some peacemaking and prodemocracy members of the U.N. sell Saudi Arabia arms at clearance prices.

General Dynamics recently secured a 14-year contract worth $10 billion to sell Saudi Arabia military vehicles as well as training and support services. The Kingdom is Germany’s largest military customer, accounting for almost a quarter of Germany’s arms sales.

Like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar are rights violators that enjoy friendship and close business relations with big arms dealers.

Oppressive governments use the language of security and defense to justify their excessive investment in weapons and personnel, and civilians pay the highest price. The arms are often used to oppress minorities and stifle their demands for reform. Every dollar spent on arms diverts resources from citizens as governments cut basic services to purchase weapons. This exacerbates  poverty and harms many of the vulnerable poor.

All nations engage in trade and have economic relationships, but these trade relations can help or harm the people of other nations. It is unethical to sell arms to governments that do not respect human rights and human dignity.

To defuse regional conflicts and reduce the oppression of ethnic minorities:

  • U.N. members should fulfill the U.N. mission of peacekeeping, by not selling arms and to known human rights violators or resign from their U.N. membership;
  • governments must value human dignity over money and economic gains;
  • the U.N. must ban selling arms to countries with human rights violations.

And most importantly, the concept of human rights and dignity has to be revisited and retaught to all, civilians and governments.

A Human Rights Researcher at Shia Rights watch

Minor Killed at the Funeral of other Teenager

seyedSayed Mahmood Sayed Mohsin, a 14 year old teenager, died after a direct gunshot from Bahraini forces. Sayed Mahmood was attending the funeral of another teenager, Ali Faisal Al Akrawi, who was killed by governmental forces this week in Sitra.

The forces used gunshots to disperse the crowd. One of the gunshots directly hit Sayed Mahmood’s heart. His body was transported to Sitra Health Centre where he was announced dead. The hospital stated that the cause of death was the direct shot. ( see picture)

Family members have requested an investigation. Meanwhile, the police station director stated: “Police will continue to protect the security of the nation and will respond lawfully to any individual attempting to harm the security of Bahrain.”

Bahraini forces have killed many minors and detained many more during peaceful pro-reform protests. Despite condemnation from international human rights committees, Bahrain has not freed the detained minors. Bahrain is the only country in the Gulf region that spends a significant amount of money buying off human rights lawyers, and pay media outlets. SRW condemns Bahrain’s mistreatment of its Shia majority and the international apathy which has enabled it.

death

54 Killed due to Bombing in Iraq

Ongoing violence in Iraq claimed 54 lives in Shia populated areas of Baghdad yesterday. Sadr City, neighborhood of Kadhimiyah, Mosul , and Tuz Khurmatu areas most effected by bombings. The bombings also wounded 37 some of which are in serious condition.

1,666 people died in the first three months of 2014 due to terrorist attacks or other acts of violence, according to UN statistics and the violence is claiming more lives every day.

Bombings have also resulted in destruction of many houses and businesses and that adds to the poverty of the Iraqi families. Despite ongoing violence millions of Shia Muslims visit Iraq year around and many bombings target pilgrims. Iraq serves as a most important country with many shrines that matter to Shia population. The government has failed to protect and decrease violence and that is a growing concern

35 Kadhimiya Pilgrims Killed

Many Shia pilgrims killed on Thursday in Iraq. The pilgrims were on their way to the shrine of Imam Mousa al-Kazim, a revered Imam who lived in the eighth century, to commemorate the anniversary of his death, which falls on Sunday this year.

Number of explosions along the way and near the pilgrims’ rest areas claimed 35 lives including number of children and wounded dozens.

Baghdad’s eastern Ur neighborhood, capital’s western Mansour neighborhood, and Mishahda are all Shia populated areas where explosions went off. Every tear hundreds of Shia pilgrims are killed in targeted killings, or bomb explosions.

Iraq is a Shia majority country in which thousands of Shia die every year by extremists.

Indonesia, What is Behind Anti-Shia Movements?

The “Anti-Shia Alliance” in Indonesia has attracted attention from news agencies and raised serious concerns among human rights NGOs over Shia rights in Indonesia following their first anti-Shia rally on Sunday. According to reporters many Indonesians attended an anti-Shia rally on Sunday at the Al Fajr mosque in the West Java capital of Bandung, where an anti-Shia declaration was announced. The declaration called for the official ban of Shia Islam among other things. What has not been reported is that this “alliance” was organized immediately after it was revealed that Jalaluddin Rakhmat, a prominent Shia scholar and professor at Paramadina University, was being considered for appointment as Minister of Religious Affairs.

Two days before the announcement of the “Anti-Shia Alliance,” Shia groups in West Java contacted local authorities and expressed their concern about growing anti-Shiism, but the governor did not take any action. While the alliance spread fear in the Shia community and exacerbated the threat of human rights violations in Indonesia, it must me stressed that the creation of the anti-Shia Alliance was orchestrated by politicians for political interests. Indonesian activists reported to SRW that the gathering that took place on Sunday was a direct reaction to the potential appointment of a Shia Muslim to a key government position.

Shia Rights Watch believes that all citizens have the right to participate in their government and advocates for all citizens to use their democratic rights to promote peace, harmony and cooperation without regard to race, ethnicity or religion. Further, SRW advises Indonesian politicians to refrain from using religious differences to spread hatred among people for political gain. We also invite Indonesians, from all backgrounds and with all religious affiliations, to boycott discriminatory groups and events. “Collectively, we can end human rights violations and discrimination in all nations through the overwhelming power of peace. Every citizen should participate in spreading the message of peace and cooperation in their own cities, towns and neighborhoods,” said SRW director Mustafa Akhwand.

Historically, Indonesians from all faiths have lived in peace, and Indonesia has been known for its diversity. However, during the last decade, anti-Shia movements have created an atmosphere of fear in the Shia community in Indonesian. As SRW reported in its Shia Ethnic Cleansing in Indonesia publication, many Shia Muslims have been attacked and lost their homes in 2012. Their battle to return to their homes continues.

Fomenting alliances against others based on their faith is illegal and must be addressed by the Indonesian government. Indonesia now has about 4.5 million Shia and they deserve to have their right to live in peace with others protected and recognized by their government.

Most Killed Least Covered The case of Syrian Shia

Most Killed Least CoveredThis 36 page report details violations against the Shia Muslim minority in Syria. The report is based on Interviews, site visits, news articles, NGO reports, and other human rights reports.

According to most reports more than 150 thousand people have lost their lives since 2011. Many of those belonged to different sects of Shia Islam. This publication is the first human rights report that specifically highlights Shia rights violations in Syria. The cases mentioned in this report were selected because the victims were targeted not due to the nature of war but because of their faith.

In this report read about Terror against Shia Muslims, Mass killings in Hatla, Haoula and Khan Al-ASAL, siege and displacement and also attacks to Shia clerics and shrines.

 

 

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