Funeral Procession of Ashura Martyrs in Saudi Arabia - Al Ahsa 1436-2014 Although Saudi authorities have accused al-Qaeda militants for a recent attack against a group of Shia Muslims participating in a ceremony marking the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (PBUH) in Eastern Province, but people say culture of sectarianism paved the way for the shooting. Saudi Shiite mourners attend on November 7, 2014, the funeral of 8 victims killed earlier this week by masked gunmen in the town of Al-Dalwa in Saudi Arabias Eastern Province. Seven of the dead were killed when gunmen opened fire at a crowd, as Shiites commemorated Ashura, one of their holiest occasions. An eighth from a neighboring village was killed by the assailants as they robbed his car to use in the attack, residents and local press said. Thousands of mourners joined Friday the funeral of eight people killed during an unprecedented rampage against minority Shiites in Saudi Arabias Eastern Province. Mourners poured into Al-Dalwa from across the Sunni-dominated kingdom, a witness told AFP, saying that some also came from neighboring Bahrain. Sunnis and Shiites, we are brothers! We shall not abandon our homeland, chanted mourners, according to footage aired online, amid calls to reject sectarianism. Posters of the deceased Sunni policemen were carried in the funeral. Grief among the villagers was mixed with anger about a culture of sectarianism they say paved the way for the shooting. With civil wars in Iraq and Syria, Saudi Arabias Shia minority feels increasingly vulnerable. The Saudi government has done little to stem a corresponding upsurge of provocative language there, cracking down on only extreme examples and emphasizing a shared national identity irrespective of sect. For sure criticism of Shiites by clerics and religious television stations like Vesal creates the atmosphere where this can happen. In our own schools the teachers tell our children that we are not Muslims, said a witness of the shooting who did not want to be named for fear of repercussions. Mondays attack took place in al-Dalwah, located in Eastern Provinces al-Ahsa, an oasis that is home to around half the kingdoms Shia minority. It prompted a police manhunt that has so far led to 20 arrests and the deaths of three suspects and two policemen in a gunfight. Top Sunni clerics have condemned the attack, which officials have blamed on al Qaeda, and Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef visited Eastern Province to offer condolences to bereaved relatives of the victims. Those actions have given comfort to the villagers. But some of them believe more needs to be done to stop hostility towards members of their sect. Saudi Arabia has closed down the offices of a religious television channel accused of fomenting sectarian tension, after al-Dalwah attack. Wesal TV has long been accused of broadcasting programmes against Shiite Muslims, a minority that lives in the eastern and southwestern areas of mainly Sunni Muslim audi Arabia. I have ordered the offices of Wesal channel in Riyadh closed and to ban any broadcast by it in the kingdom, Saudi Information Minister Abdulaziz Khoja said on his Twitter account. This is essentially not a Saudi channel, he added in a message in Arabic on Tuesday evening. The royal court later said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA on Wednesday that Khoja had been relieved of his post at his request and replaced by the minister for the haj pilgrimage. It’s not clear any connection between Khojas departure and the closure of the television offices.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 11:03:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015