Oddly enough, they were actually attacked by Sunni Muslims who clearly misunderstood the peaceful teachings of their faith that only greasy Islamophobes would dare to think ever inspires violence.
“Two Killed as Hard-liners Attack Shia School Group,” by Dessy Sagita, Amir Tejo and Markus Junianto Sihaloho in the Jakarta Globe, August 27 (thanks to Twostellas):
Two people were killed and five were injured in an attack on a group of Shia students and teachers in Sampang, East Java, on Sunday.
Around 30 Shiites, most of them children, were traveling from Nangkernang village on the island of Madura, bound for Bangil in East Java.
Shortly into their trip, they were stopped by about 500 men from mainstream Muslim groups, preventing them from continuing, said Umi Kulsum, who was at the scene.
“Two people died, Hamama and Tohir,” she said. “Five were wounded as they were trying to protect the women and children. I was petrified.
“When the incident happened, there weren’t any police officers. The mob had swords and machetes, and they attacked all of the adult males who were trying to protect the women and children.”
Among the group were five of Umi’s children, who were taken away from her….
The mob then torched four homes belonging to the Shiite community, including one belonging to Umi and her husband, Shia cleric Tajul Muluk….
On Dec. 29, Shiites in Nangkernang was attacked by hard-line Muslim groups, who set fire to hundreds of homes and a Shia Islamic school, displacing 500 Shiites from their village.
Police instead charged Tajul with blasphemy, and the Ministry of Religious Affairs office in Sampang said it would “supervise” hundreds of Shia to learn Sunni Islam.
Last month, a district court in East Java sentenced the Shia cleric to two years in prison for blasphemy after reportedly telling students that the Koran was not the original holy text for Muslims, an allegation Tajul’s legal team repeatedly denied….
With the ongoing tension and intimidation against the group, Umi said she had requested police come to ensure a safe passage for the convoy of children, but police never came. Hours after the incident, eight police officers arrived at the scene….
Umi identified the attackers as followers of Roisul Hukama, a local Nahdlatul Ulama leader who has been fanning hatred toward the local Shia community.
“How many lives must fall until police and the government intervene?” Umi asked.
“Our children have stopped going to school for five months. My husband is in jail, and my whole life is under terror.”…
Intimidation toward and attacks on Shiites have also been recorded in Pasuruan and Bangil, both in East Java.