I am greatly saddened by the recent events whereby innocent mourners of Saidina Husain (the Prophet Muhammad's grandson) were raided by Jais on the eve of Ashura. How can this happen in multi-religious and multi-racial Malaysia?

Having lived in Iran and many a few Arab countries, I can assure you that Ashura has nothing to do with violence. Rather, it is about self-sacrifice, something that Husain did more than 1,000 years ago. He sacrificed not only himself, but his dearest family members and friends which included his 6-month old baby in order to preserve the religion of Islam that was brought by Muhammad peace be upon him, his grandfather.

Ashura is commemorated world-wide, wherever there are people whose hearts are still quivered and saddened by the triumph of a few thousand well-equipped soldiers against an 'army' of mere 72 people. It is the agony and pain suffered by Husain's men (and women), not allowed to have access to the Euphrates river for days, the heroic battle between uneven numbers and the sacrifice of brave men for their leader and 'protector' of religion that makes the story of Ashura evergreen and alive.

No wonder people who remember Husain's sacrifice in Karbala on Ashura weep for him as if he just died yesterday. Which humane heart wouldn't?

Thus, it is rather strange if a group of mourners are prohibited from commemorating this event and are being hurled with so many false accusations. Any sane mind would conclude that the allegations thrown to these mourners of Husain are totally nonsense.

To prove this, let me give just one example. It is alleged that this group, allegedly headed by an Iranian, does not believe that pilgrimage to Mecca is wajib (obligatory). If this is true, why is it that the same Iranian Shias go for haj annually in large numbers, sometimes only outnumbered by Indonesians?

I believe that if you were to ask the participants in the Ashura commemoration in Gombak itself that you would find many who have performed the haj. Better still, ask any Iranian in KL whether he considers haj to be obligatory or not?

To the relevant authorities, please do not tarnish Malaysia's good image as a harmonious multi-religious and multi-racial country abroad by this uncalled for action. No matter how different this 'deviant sect' called Shias are from their Sunni-Shafi'i brethren in Malaysia, do not get into the trap made by those who like to sow the seeds of disunity and brotherhood among Muslims. Haven't we had enough of ' kafir-mengkafir ' back in the 80's?

So far many statements have been made and some are contradictory. The Jais head says that the Shias are a threat to national security but our home minister says otherwise. A religious officer says that the we, Sunni Malaysians, should not marry Shias and if we still do, then any child from that marriage is considered to be illegitimate while the Perlis mufti does not go to that extent.

Our minister in the Prime Minister's Department (religious affairs) says that Shi'ism outside Malaysia is respected but it should not be practiced in Malaysia. Would a hard-core Malaysian communist be any less communist if he or she were to be outside Malaysia?

For the sake of the religious freedom that we are so proud of, I sincerely hope that our authorities would review the severe measures imposed upon this ‘religious minority’.

May the spirit of peace-loving and truth-seeking Husain live on as epitomised by Gandhi in his words, “I learned from Husain how to achieve victory while being oppressed,” and Edward Gibbon, the famous English historian and member of parliament who said, “In a distant age and climate, the tragic scene of the death of Husain will awaken the sympathy of the coldest reader.” (The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, London,1911, volume 5, p391-392)