Is this the beginning of Malaysia’s Sunni-Shia conflict?

By MT Webmaster On Nov 10, 2013

Religion is supposed to be good. Religion is supposed to save your soul. However, it appears like religion has condemned more souls than it has saved. Is this not ironical? And it becomes worse when everyone thinks that he or she is right and all the others are wrong. That is when the killing starts.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I wrote this article — One man’s deviant is another man’s truth — earlier this week. In this article I touched on the Sunni-Shia divide since the year 632 and explained what caused it. This article was in response to the government’s warning about deviant teachings, which more or less meant Shia teachings.

Of late, the Malaysian government has been clamping down on Shia teachings and supporters. It was just a matter of time before this conflict would explode into an open conflict like it has in so many other Muslim countries for more than a thousand years.

Of course, we do not yet know the reason why the head of the enforcement division of the Pahang Islamic Religious Department, Ahmad Rafli Abdul Malek, was assassinated today. But already there is speculation that it involves the clampdown on the Shias.

I have always said that religious conflict is more dangerous than racial conflict. The Crusades in Europe of 1,000 years ago plus the Partition of India that saw one million deaths is proof of this. We must also not forget what happened in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon, Bosnia, Iraq, and many other places, the last 100 years or so. It is all about the same race fighting each other over differences in religious doctrine.

Anyway, the police are yet to tell us what happened. Nevertheless, whatever the police may announce, that will still not stop people from speculating that this is about the differences in religious doctrine. If it is not about that, then the police will need to come out with some very convincing evidence.

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(Bernama) – The head of the enforcement division of the Pahang Islamic Religious Department (JAIP) was shot dead in his house in Indera Mahkota 2 near here today.

According to a police source, Raflie Ab Malik was shot thrice and died instantly in the 2pm incident.

“Three suspects are believed to be involved in the shooting,” the source told Bernama.

He said the trio made their getaway in a white Proton Wira Aeroback car. “The suspects were all wearing black coloured clothes and donned “kopiahs” (skullcaps),” he said.

Pahang CID chief SAC Mohd Zakaria Ahmad confirmed the shooting and said investigations were underway.

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(TMI) – The enforcement head of the Pahang Islamic Religious Department, Ahmad Rafli Abdul Malek, was shot dead at his house in Indera Mahkota 2 in Pahang this afternoon.

In the 2.30pm incident, 49-year-old Ahmad Rafli was in front of his house when three men in a Proton Wira pulled up.

One of the men whipped out a pistol and fired three shots at Ahmad Rafli, two of which hit him. The suspect then fled with his accomplices.

Ahmad Rafli was hit in his chest and died at the scene. A police forensic team recovered several 9mm bullet casings from the scene.

His body has been sent to the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital where police are waiting for the pathologist’s report.

Pahang Criminal Investigation Department chief Datuk Mohd Zakaria Ahmad confirmed the incident saying police had yet to ascertain the motive for the murder.

Police are attempting to ascertain whether Ahmad Rafli’s murder is connected with the recent gazetting of anti-Shia laws in Pahang.

In July, it was reported that state religious authorities were planning to gazette a fatwa or edict to curb the spread of Shia teachings for fear it could confuse Muslims.

As the state religious department enforcement head, Ahmad Rafli was involved in carrying out operations to ensure that Shia teachings were not spread in Pahang.

Besides Pahang, Kedah, Negri Sembilan and Malacca have issued bans on Shia teachings.

However, sources familiar with Ahmad Rafli’s recent cases, said apart from handling matters relating to Shia issues in the state, he had also been involved in the arrest of the deviant Tuhan Haron muslim group.

Aside from being charged in the Syariah court for deviant teachings and for claiming to be god, Tuhan Haron leader, Harun Mat Saad was also charged at a Sessions court in Kota Baru for taking RM40 million in deposit from several companies and his followers.

Ahmad Rafli was also said to have led raids on several night clubs in Kuantan recently.

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The historic background of the Sunni–Shia split lies in the schism that occurred when the Islamic prophet Muhammad died in the year 632, leading to a dispute over succession to Muhammad as a caliph of the Islamic community spread across various parts of the world which led to the Battle of Siffin.

The dispute intensified greatly after the Battle of Karbala, in which Hussein ibn Ali and his household were killed by the ruling Umayyad Caliph Yazid I, and the outcry for his revenge divided the early Islamic community.

Today there are differences in religious practice, traditions and customs, often related to jurisprudence. Although all Muslim groups consider the Quran to be divine, Sunni and Shia have different opinions on hadith.