IGP: Police will work with religious authorities to stop group distributing leaflets on Shiah icon

KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 — Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Abdul Hamid Bador today said that police would work with religious authorities to stop a group which has been distributing leaflets seen as promoting Shiah Islam.

“This is irresponsible and goes against Sunni Islam.

“We will monitor any activity of this group and work with the religious authorities and take appropriate action,” Abdul Hamid told reporters after the handover ceremony for deputy inspector-general of police Datuk Mazlan Mansor.

Mazlan replaced Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim, who retired on March 17.

He was referring to a group who has been distributing leaflets titled “Who is Hussain”.

Hussain refers to the central figure in Shiah Islam, who is also the grandson of Prophet Muhammad.

The group wearing black T-shirts bearing the words “Who is Hussain?” has recently distributed meals and rosary beads to members of the public in the city centre.

In September last year, Malay Mail reported that a group accused of proselytising Shiah teachings gave out doughnuts from a truck parked below the Bukit Bintang monorail station.

Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) had at the time urged public for more information regarding the event.

The event organiser Natasha, however, said they had never preached anything about Shiah. (She had declined to give her patronym due to the sensitivity of the matter).

The organiser is the pro-tem country representative for the newly-formed Malaysian chapter of Who is Hussain, a United Kingdom-based global charity movement with 70 representatives in 26 different countries.

Among those who had accused the group of promoting Shiah teachings was convert group Multiracial Reverted Muslims’ (MRM) founder Firdaus Wong Wai Hung, who made the allegation in a Facebook post.