Shiism, the largest Islamic denomination after Sunni Islam, has long been forced to take a second class position in Sunni states such as Saudi Arabia and secular, communist-inspired regimes, such as Baathist Iraq.

Shifting dynamics in post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, and tensions between the West and Iran — the world’s only official Shia state — has brought the faith — at least in its politicized expressions — into focus in recent years. Yet, while Iran’s nuclear program continues to dominate the discussion, Shia Muslims are beginning to feel under assault in some Sunni states.

In January Amnesty International called for Indonesia to protect Shia Muslims that had fled their village after coming under attack. AI also reported that, in late 2011, “houses, a boarding school and a place of worship belonging to the Shi’a community in Nangkrenang village, Sampang, Madura Island, were attacked and burned by a mob of around 500 people, some of whom were carrying sharp weapons.”

Earlier this month a Shia cleric was sentenced to two years in prison on the charge of “blasphemy.”
Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, called on the Indonesian government “immediately drop the case against Tajul Muluk, which,” she says, “highlights the threat Indonesia’s blasphemy law poses to religious freedom.”

“The government needs to reverse the growing trend of violence and legal action against religious minorities in the country,” she said.

HRW blames the “Islamist board known as Bakor Pakem” for encouraging the persecution of minority faiths in Indonesia.

Bakor Pakem, otherwise known as Badan Koordinasi Pengawas Aliran Kepercayaan Masyarakat (The Coordinating Board for Monitoring Mystical Beliefs in Society ) operates under Indonesia’s Attorney General’s Office and has branches in every one of Indonesia’s provinces.

Responsible for “oversight in respect of religious beliefs that could endanger society and the state,” Bakor Pakem called for prohibiting the Ahmadiyah sect of Islam (often regarded as heretical) only two months before it was officially banned. It also led the prosecution of Andreas Guntur, the leader of the Amanat Keagungan Ilahi spiritual group, who was sentenced to four years in jail in March 2012 for blasphemy. And it also led the prosecution of Shia cleric Tajul Muluk.

In Saudi Arabia earlier in July Shia Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr was arrested. The sheikh was well known in the region for his pro-Shia activism. Following his arrest Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia two Shia Muslims — Mohammad al-Felfel and Akbar al-Shakhouri — were killed in protests. This prompted more than a thousand Shia’s to take to the streets in protest.

According to Al Jazeera, demonstrators chanted ”Down with the House of Saud” and “Down with Mohammed bin Fahd,” the governor of the Eastern Province where al-Nimr was arrested.

The crowd also carried Bahraini flags and chanted “Qatif and Bahrain are one people,” apparently referencing the Shias in the neighboring kingdom demanded reforms in a recent “uprising.”

See also:
Hezbollah condemns arrest of Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia.
Six Shia Muslims killed in bomb blast in Pakistan.