Mohammed Fazil, the Muslim youth who was brutally murdered in Dakshina Kannada's Surathkal merely two days after the killing of BJP Yuva Morcha leader Praveen Nettar, was laid to rest today. His body was handed over to his family in the morning after conducting an autopsy. Meanwhile, to avoid any untoward incidents in the wake of the sensitive twin murder cases, Section 144 has been imposed in Mangalore city limits. A liquor ban has also been imposed and the police have set up 19 checkpoints across the city.

According to the Police, Fazil was attacked with a lethal weapon by 4-5 unidentified miscreants. A report by Deccan Herald mentioned that preliminary investigations led by the Police revealed that the deceased was murdered because he was in love with a Shia woman whereas Mohammed Fazil practiced Sunni Islam. The miscreants arrived in a car near the cloth shop owned by the deceased, killed him, and fled from the spot after the murder.

Mangaluru Police Commissioner, N Shashi Kumar, confirming the death said that the incident happened at around 8 pm on July 28. “There was an incident where a 23-year-old boy was brutally attacked by 4-5 people near Krishnapura Katipalla road, Surathkal. The boy was immediately shifted to a hospital and was declared dead”, he said.

He also added that the Police has filed the case based on a complaint of the eyewitness who was with the deceased during the incident. “A case of murder has been registered at the Surathkal Police Station. Keeping in view the sensitivity of the situation in important areas under Mangaluru city commissioner, we’ve imposed prohibitory orders u/s 144”, the Commissioner added.

Following the incident, the police appealed to the Muslim community to hold Friday prayers at home. Liquor shops have also been closed down on Friday and police are not permitting more than five persons in a group. “We have requested all Muslim leaders to perform their prayers at their homes, in the larger interest of the law and order of every locality”, Kumar said also requesting the citizens to not succumb to any rumors being spread by vested-interest groups.

An additional police force has also been sent to Surathkal to prevent any untoward incident from taking place. CCTV footage of the incident, accessed by TV9 Kannada, shows a man being chased and attacked by assailants.

To note, this is the second murder that has been reported in the state of Karnataka. Earlier, BJP Yuva Morcha worker Praveen Nettaru was hacked to death by assailants who were on a bike in Bellari, Dakshina Kannada of Karnataka, and attacked Nettaru with sharp weapons. Two accused named Zakir and Mohammed Shafiq have been arrested in Kerala. Reports mention that the two are linked to the Islamist terrorist organizations named SDPI and PFI.

While some of the reports claim that the murder of Mohammed Fazil was executed in retaliation for the murder of Nettaru, others have dismissed the claims and stated that it might be a result of a love affair.

The case has been registered under the relevant sections of the IPC and the Police are investigating the case to verify the motive behind the murder. The Police have also recovered the CCTV footage from the spot which has shocked the state. Further investigations are underway.

What is the Shia-Sunni divide?

Shia identity is rooted in victimhood over the killing of Husayn, the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson, in the seventh century, and a long history of marginalization by the Sunni majority. Islam’s dominant sect, which roughly 85 percent of the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims follow, viewed Shia Islam with suspicion, and extremist Sunnis have portrayed Shias as heretics and apostates.

Many Christian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian converts to Islam chose to become Shia rather than Sunni in the early centuries of the religion as a protest against the ethnic Arab empires that treated non-Arabs as second-class citizens. Their religions influenced the evolution of Shia Islam as distinct from Sunni Islam in rituals and beliefs. 

The first and central difference emerged after the death of Prophet Muhammad in A.D. 632. The issue was who would be the caliph – the “deputy of God” – in the absence of the prophet. While the majority sided with Abu Bakr, one of the prophet’s closest companions, a minority opted for his son-in-law and cousin – Ali. This group held that Ali was appointed by the prophet to be the political and spiritual leader of the fledgling Muslim community.

Subsequently, those Muslims who put their faith in Abu Bakr came to be called Sunni (“those who follow the Sunna,” the sayings, deeds, and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad) and those who trusted in Ali came to be known as Shia (a contraction of “Shiat Ali,” meaning “partisans of Ali”).

Abu Bakr became the first caliph and Ali became the fourth caliph. However, Ali’s leadership was challenged by Aisha, the prophet’s wife and daughter of Abu Bakr. Aisha and Ali went to battle against each other near Basra, Iraq in the Battle of the Camel in A.D. 656. Aisha was defeated, but the roots of division were deepened. Subsequently, Mu’awiya, the Muslim governor of Damascus, also went to battle against Ali, further exacerbating the divisions in the community.

References:

opindia.com