Setting Grounds for Violence: Saudi Influence in Malaysia

Shia Rights Watch condemns violence-inciting speech at the Pertubuhan Ilmuan Malaysia Convention in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in early January of 2020.  Communication with both Malaysian and 

Shia Rights Watch condemns violence-inciting speech at the Pertubuhan Ilmuan Malaysia Convention in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in early January of 2020.  Communication with both Malaysian and Saudi Arabian authorities have been initiated to address the abhorrent marginalization of Shia Muslims by Saudi presence in the nation of Malaysia. 

Sheikh Abdurrahman Ibrahim Al-Rubai’in, the religious attache in the Saudi Embassy of Malaysia, stated in his speech that “The differences between the Sunnis and Shias are not merely over jurisprudence, but also has to do between truth and falsehood.”

He furthered that Shia do not believe in the Quran and urged the countering of Shia teachings as well as “Shia sympathizers” in the nation. Moreover, he undermined all efforts that quelled sectarian violence by noting that the two religious beliefs have nothing in common.

Al-Rubai’in made false claims against Shia Muslims, presenting them as deviants from the greater Islamic religion.   By distancing the Shia from the Muslim belief-systems, Al-Rubai’in creates a platform for human rights violations based on faith. 

Correspondence to Malaysian and Saudi Arabian authorities can be found on ShiaRightsWatch.org.