Anti-Shia Persecution

The Shia Rights Watch (SRW), a non-profit organization that defends Shia rights around the world, issued a statement condemning the widespread sectarian persecution practices targeting Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan with the beginning of the holy month of Muharram.

The organization said in its statement that it has “received reliable information and reports of widespread sectarian persecutions committed by the authorities in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan against Shia citizens in several regions of the two countries, expressing its strong condemnation of these brutal violations.”

The statement pointed out that documented testimonies confirm that the security authorities in the two countries arbitrarily harassed Shia Muslims, coinciding with the Ashura season.

It revealed that “these violations included summoning husseiniyat leaders and attacking the manifestations of Ashura by removing mourning signs, as well as preventing women from participating in Husseini ceremonies.”

The Organization warned ” the ruling authorities in the two countries of escalating sectarian discrimination,” noting that “this approach represents a setback to what the authorities of the two countries have rumoured that they are allowing their citizens to practice religious rites without discrimination.”