Shia Muslims from Detroit were attacked on Hajj

[FAH1223]

A group of hajjis from Australia violently attacked a group of hajjis from the US.

A group of metro Detroiters visiting Saudi Arabia for the annual Muslim pilgrimage said they were attacked and threatened with death last week by a group of Sunni men from Australia because they are Shias, a minority sect within Islam.

One of the members of the group was strangled until his face turned blue and women in the group were threatened with rape, according to people who witnessed the attack last week. They allege that authorities in Saudi Arabia did not take their complaints seriously and deleted a video one of them had made of the incident.

A U.S. State Department official told the Free Press on Monday: “We are concerned by reports that a group of U.S. citizens was attacked ... at a campsite for Hajj pilgrims located outside of Mecca. We take these reports seriously and are committed to the protection of U.S. citizens traveling and residing abroad.”

The Embassy of Saudi Arabia did not return a reporter’s calls or an e-mail seeking comment. The State Department official said the hajj and interior ministries in Saudi Arabia “have confirmed that they are investigating” the incident.

The Michigan Shias, led by Imam Hassan Al-Qazwini of Dearborn, the spiritual leader of metro Detroit’s biggest mosque, were in Saudi Arabia on hajj, the Muslim pilgrimage that all observant Muslims are required to take at least once in their life if they’re able to. The group included three women from the Amen family who were featured in the reality TV show “All-American Muslim.”

While Shias from metro Detroit have reported being harassed before on hajj, last week’s incident was much more extreme and frightening, members of the group told the Free Press.

The attack occurred Wednesday evening as some members of the group walked into a tent in Mina, a city in Saudi Arabia where pilgrims are required to spend a night to fulfill the requirements of hajj. The tent was for pilgrims from the U.S., Australia and European countries.

The Shias said they were confronted by a large group of men they later learned were Lebanese-Australians who belong to a Sunni group known as Salafis.

The Salafis asked one of the Shia men if he was Shia, recalled Seyed Mothafar Al-Qazwini, a nephew of Imam Al-Qazwini. “He responded ‘yes.’ He was immediately attacked by three men, one grabbing him in a choke hold, the others punching him in the face.”

Al-Qazwini said the leader of the Salafis then shouted “Kill them all. Kill the Shia.”

Suehaila Amen of Dearborn said the attackers also yelled “Kafir” at the Shias, an insult that means “infidel” or “non-Muslim.”

Some of the Sunnis then ran to the women’s tents, telling them “if they do not leave in 15 minutes, they will rape them all,” Al-Qazwini said.

During the attack, the leader of the attackers referenced a 7th century battle in Karbala, Iraq, where a leader revered by Shias was killed along with many of his family members, said Al-Qazwini. The leader told the Shias, according to Al-Qazwini: “We will make this day like the day of Karbala. We will kill all your men and take your women as captives.”

Amen, an activist in Dearborn, confirmed Al-Qazwini’s account, saying: “The attack on us in Mina was terrifying.”

The Shia men managed to free the man being strangled and fled the tent area with the help of the group leader, Hassan Sobh of Dearborn, Al-Qazwini and Amen said.

Amen praised Sobh for his actions, calling him a hero. He “got our men out of harm’s way as we were outnumbered” and “got his women safely away.”

Amen and Al-Qazwini criticized the lack of action from Saudi police on the scene, saying that they initially expressed interest, but then did nothing and deleted a video recording made of the incident. Al-Qazwini said they had difficulty getting a response from U.S. Embassy officials they contacted after the incident.

Contact Niraj Warikoo: 313-223-4792 or nwarikoo@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @nwarikoo

http://www.freep.com/article/20131022/N ... ed-at-Hajj

[AhlulbaytSoldier]

I think there is some falsehood in this story.
Shiasm for 80% is based on lies. Hardly to believe them

[Grant]

Makes you proud, does it? Check the happenings in Indonesia, where the Sunnis are calling the Sufis blasphemers and shutting down their schools:

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/ ... tolerance/

[BlackVelvet]

Grant have you heard of Yusuf Estes? He's a white American pastor who converted to Islam very many years ago. I think he's in his 60's now. Anyway he said something which I will always remember and that was "I'm glad I got to know Islam before I got to know Muslims". You unfortunately had to suffer the opposite.

[FAH1223]

I think there is some falsehood in this story.
Shiasm for 80% is based on lies. Hardly to believe them

This is the mentality that exhbits the behavior of people acting like idiots at Hajj.

[Hyperactive]

Grant have you heard of Yusuf Estes? He's a white American pastor who converted to Islam very many years ago. I think he's in his 60's now. Anyway he said something which I will always remember and that was "I'm glad I got to know Islam before I got to know Muslims". You unfortunately had to suffer the opposite.

best thing i read today. poor old grant, he got to know muslims before islam. this guy would be a muslim if he stops looking muslims and start learning islam.

[jamal9]

fake story!
fake story!

[FAH1223]

fake story!
fake story!

you sure?

[Cherine]

Why is this unbelievable? Salafi extremists make mincemeat out of SHias every day when they go and bomb their mosques. It's easy to see how someone can make the jump from merely making hatefilled comments to actually harming someone. If this Ahlulbayt guy had the opportunity he would have done the same.

[waayeel101]

mathloumiya

[AhlulbaytSoldier]

I think there is some falsehood in this story.
Shiasm for 80% is based on lies. Hardly to believe them

This is the mentality that exhbits the behavior of people acting like idiots at Hajj.

Akhi, who are shias making hajj for? Their deities(Al-Hussain a.s/ Ali a.s) or Allah swt? Who are they saying " La Bayka" in makkah?

I have the answer here:

[AhlulbaytSoldier]

Why is this unbelievable? Salafi extremists make mincemeat out of SHias every day when they go and bomb their mosques. It's easy to see how someone can make the jump from merely making hatefilled comments to actually harming someone. If this Ahlulbayt guy had the opportunity he would have done the same.

Iam NOT salafilover, but these rafidha are asking for.


Saying stuff like " Labayka Ya Hussain" in Makkah is provocative action.
Shirk must be expelled from Makkah and Madina.

[AgentOfChaos]

Sadly, divide and conquer strategy works.

[InaSamaale]

Fake. Us Aussies are too laid back for that.

[FAH1223]

Iam NOT salafilover, but these rafidha are asking for.


Saying stuff like " Labayka Ya Hussain" in Makkah is provocative action.
Shirk must be expelled from Makkah and Madina.

HOW THE **** DO YOU KNOW THESE PEOPLE FROM DETROIT WERE SAYING THAT?

AND EVEN IF THEY DID, WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU RAPE THEM AND KILL THEM?

Man, just STFU.