From The Wall Street Journal
The case highlights a complaint of some Shia followers in Malaysia—that they are not allowed to freely practice their faith.
“We are treated very unfairly,” Ms. Nur said. “We are treated like criminals just because we want to follow Shia Islam.”
Mr. Mohammad couldn’t be reached for comment.
Malaysia has two parallel legal tracks: traditional common law, applying to everyone, and Shariah law, Islamic codes on religious observance and family matters that apply only to Muslims.
Nearly two-thirds of Malaysia’s 28 million people are Muslim, according to government statistics, the vast majority of whom are Sunnis. It is unclear how many Shia followers are in Malaysia. Shia leaders don’t collect or estimate their numbers, while government officials offer widely differing estimates—from 2,000 to 250,000—with some of the huge discrepancy attributed to foreign tourists and students. All agree, however, that Shia followers are a small number compared with Sunnis.
