KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 — A visiting Iranian scholar and philosopher expressed bewilderment over local hostility against Shia Muslims, and questioned why Malaysia was sanctioning the apparent crackdown.

During a forum jointly organised by think tank Penang Institute and Islamic activists Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF) on Friday, Prof Mohsen Kadivar highlighted a 1959 'fatwa' (religious edict) in Egypt recognising the second largest denomination in Islam.

“Are Malaysian Muslim leaders aware of this fatwa?” asked Kadivar in a report published by IRF today.

In it, Kavidar asserted that the schism between Islam’s two main denominations arose from ignorance, and contended that greater disputes exist among the Sunni's four schools of jurisprudence despite their general acceptance among Muslims.

"The differences between Hanafis and Hanbalis, or between Malikis and Shafies, are more than the differences between Sunnis and Shias,” Kadivar added.

Kadivar also said that the sectarian attitude among Malaysian Muslims is due to ignorance, pointing out to a survey by Washington-based Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life last year.

From the survey, Pew found that tolerance for Shias in Sunni-majority countries relates to the size of the former group among their populations.

In Shia-majority Iraq and Lebanon, more Sunnis count Shias as fellow Muslims, as compared to Gulf countries where the number of Shias is negligible.

Kadivar was invited for a series of talks and forums last week, with one of the talks cancelled at the last minute by the venue authority, and another changed to a closed-door session instead of open.

The cleric's remarks come as Muslims in the nation were asked to unite in combating the spread of Shia teachings by the chairman of the Kedah Council of Regency, Tan Sri Tunku Annuar Sultan Badlishah today.

Tunku Annuar said the state government should also be firm in tackling the issue of Shia teachings, which had been rejected by the National Fatwa Council and respective state fatwa committees.

“Malaysia is an Islamic country which practises the Sunni teachings and any other teachings which are in conflict with ‘hukum syarak' are prohibited,” he said.

Last week, Perlis Mufti Datuk Dr Juanda Jaya advised Muslims in the country against marrying Shia followers to "protect the harmony" of Sunni-majority Muslims in the country.