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‘He was our imam’: Khamenei’s death lays bare Malaysia’s unease with its Shi’ite community
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A memorial ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on March 2 for Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli strike on Feb 28.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Following a US-Israeli strike on Iran's leader, Malaysian Shi'ites protested, while PM Anwar condemned the action, expressing solidarity with Iran despite domestic complexities.
- Shi'ite Muslims in Malaysia face decades of state-sanctioned marginalisation, categorised as a "deviant sect" since the 1990s, leading to scrutiny and public confusion.
- Evolving attitudes, partly driven by regional conflicts, suggest a shift in perception towards Shi'ite Muslims, though any policy change poses political risks for the government.
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KUALA LUMPUR – On the evening of March 1, a small group of Shi’ite adherents gathered outside the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur, chanting “death to America” and holding portraits of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
A day earlier, a US-Israeli strike on Iran had
and other country leaders, while also targeting key security and military sites across the country.The reaction in Malaysia to his death has since exposed a quiet tension currently at the heart of the country’s Muslim community – between the state’s official rejection of Shi’ite as a “deviant sect”, and the sympathy some prominent Sunni voices have shown for the slain Iranian Shi’ite leader.
For some in the Shi’ite community, Mr Khamenei was not just a political leader but was considered the spiritual authority of adherents worldwide.
“Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was our imam and rahbar – leader. He was the viceroy or representative of the Imam Mahdi,” said a 65-year-old Malaysian Shi’ite, who wished to be identified only as Mr Zulfikar, for fear of being singled out in the country. “Imam Mahdi” refers to the messianic figure in Islam.
Mr Zulfikar is among the hundreds of thousands in the country who follow Shi’ite, the second-largest Muslim denomination in the world. Worldwide, some 90 per cent of Muslims are Sunni and over 10 per cent are Shi’ite.
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The community in Malaysia has persevered, despite decades of state-sanctioned marginalisation. The Islamic authorities recognise only the Sunni denomination, while Shi’ite has been categorised as a “deviant sect” since the 1990s.
This lingering perception was evident from the blistering public backlash against Mr Ahmad Fauwaz Fadzil Noor, Mufti of Malaysia’s Federal Territories, who said on March 1 that Mr Khamenei died a martyr.
In Islam, the term “martyr” is traditionally reserved for those who die in the cause of holy struggle, or jihad.
In reaction to Mr Fauwaz’s statement on Facebook, multiple Malay-Muslim netizens asked how the leader of a “sect” that is considered “deviant” in Malaysia can be afforded such a recognition, questioning the theological inconsistency in the mufti’s comment.
But Mr Fauwaz was not alone in lauding Mr Khamenei, with Parti Islam SeMalaysia president Hadi Awang echoing the sentiment in his condolence message to the family of the Iranian leader.
“May Allah bestow His mercy upon him and grant those who have lost their lives the reward of martyrdom,” said Tan Sri Hadi, the leader of Malaysia’s opposition Islamist party.
Caught between two worlds
At a separate remembrance ceremony with the Iranian embassy in Kuala Lumpur on March 2, Mr Kamil Zuhairi Abdul Azizi, who heads the Malaysia Shia Imamiyyah Ja’fari Civil Society, condemned Washington and Tel Aviv.
Speaking on behalf of the Shi’ite community in Malaysia at the ceremony, Mr Kamil said the killing would not weaken Iran, declaring instead that both the US and Israel would face the brunt of Iran’s military resolve.
Mr Kamil Zuhairi Abdul Azizi, who heads the Malaysia Shia Imamiyyah Ja’fari Civil Society, at a remembrance ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on March 2.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF KAMIL ZUHAIRI
The US State Department has advised Americans to “
depart now via commercial means
” from those countries as well as Egypt, Iraq, the occupied West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Syria and Yemen, amid escalating tensions and reports that Tehran has refused to negotiate.In response to the attack, the Malaysian Parliament showed a rare
cross-bench display of solidarity
. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had described the attack as hypocrisy, saying the US and European countries often deliver “lectures” on human rights and democracy, something he “can no longer swallow”.However, not all Malaysians share their political leaders’ sentiment. On social media, several Malaysian accounts welcomed the attack and were supportive of the US-Israeli attack.
To them, the deadly strike was “justice” against Iranian political leaders’ treatment of its citizens and its involvement in the Syrian civil war, where more than 200,000 Sunnis were killed, mostly civilians.
Speaking to The Straits Times, Mr Kamil welcomed Malaysia’s support for Iran, calling it a positive development. But he said the reality on the ground differs for the local Shi’ite community.
“Since 2010 until now, I have repeatedly been called to give my testimony to the religious authorities and security forces,” Mr Kamil said.
“I made sure that they understand that Shi’ite Muslims are not terrorists but instead defenders of oppressed groups such as the Palestinians.”
Since the 1979 Iranian Revolution that established a Shi’ite Islamic theocracy after ousting the country’s monarch, Tehran has sought to promote Shi’ite beliefs beyond its borders through religious education, cultural outreach and transnational clerical networks.
The Islamic Republic of Iran funds seminaries that train foreign clerics, supports international organisations linking Shi’ite communities, and sponsors cultural centres and publications that disseminate Shi’ite teachings.
In Malaysia, the scrutiny stems from a 1996 fatwa declaring Shi’ite teachings as deviant, effectively prohibiting the spread of its doctrine among Muslims in Malaysia. The ruling has since been cited to justify raids on Shi’ite gatherings, the closure of Shi’ite-linked centres and arrests of adherents.
These restrictions force the Shi’ite community to operate in secret, including relying on video conferencing for prayers and discussions, which are held nightly, to avoid being arrested by the religious authorities.
“The Shi’ite community in Malaysia has a need for religious education, through whatever medium that is available,” Mr Kamil said.
A doctrine that divides
Addressing the backlash and divide, Associate Professor Syaza Shukri of the International Islamic University Malaysia said the comments reflect public confusion, after three decades of being told by their government that Shi’ite is a heretical belief.
“Malaysians are so controlled doctrinally that anything that is not Sunni is considered deviant, with Shi’ite seen as among the worst,” Prof Syaza said.
“For traditional Malays, even calling Shi’ite Muslims is heretical.”
The split dates back nearly 1,400 years to disputes over succession after Prophet Muhammad’s death. Shi’ite Muslims believe leadership should have passed to his son-in-law Ali and his descendants, while Sunnis accept the leadership of the caliphs chosen after the Prophet’s death.
The two denominations also have different interpretations on certain religious doctrines and worship.
Today, Sunni Islam is the overwhelmingly dominant branch of the religion that is professed by as much as 90 per cent of the world’s two billion Muslims. Shi’ite makes up most of the rest, and is centred in Iran, alongside Iraq, Azerbaijan and Bahrain.
ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute visiting senior fellow Faizal Musa said that fear of the Shi’ite community in Malaysia started from the 1970s. The community was seen as a threat to the status quo of the religious scholarly class, owing to the popularity of the Iranian Revolution among Muslim youth after it ousted the Shah and established a theocratic state, and was thus labelled extremist and radical.
The vilification of the community spiked after 2009, during the tenure of Prime Minister Najib Razak, who Dr Faizal said was influenced by the puritanical Salafi movement from Saudi Arabia, also called Wahhabism. This theological clash led to clampdowns throughout the last decade.
Wahhabism, a hardline branch of Sunni Islam, places a heavy emphasis on the disciples of Prophet Muhammad as a source of religious rules, while the Shi’ite reject many of them and instead built their dogma on the teachings of members of the Prophet’s family.
“But now only a small minority still cling to that fear, largely due to parochial thinking,” said Dr Faizal, who is also known by his pen name Faisal Tehrani.
“Those who are more reflective, sophisticated and educated have awakened. Shi’ite is no longer feared.”
He said Malaysians’ growing acceptance of the Shi’ite community was catalysed by Iran’s confrontation with Israel in Gaza and how some Muslims admired figures such as New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who identifies as a Shi’ite Muslim.
This contrasts with widespread disappointment among Muslims towards Sunni leaders in the Middle East, many of whom he said have drawn closer to the US and Israel despite negative public sentiment.
“Many now admit that their previous fears were unfounded,” Dr Faizal said. “That fearmongering was based on incorrect facts.”
To Prof Syaza, any apparent recognition of the Shi’ites in Malaysia could carry political risks for Datuk Seri Anwar’s government.
This is especially at a time when it has faced criticism from conservative Muslim groups over issues including a university student
and disputes over Hindu templesbuilt illegally on Muslim-owned land
.“The government is already seen as not Islamic enough to the conservative Malays,” she said.
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