Egypt's State Security Investigation Office has opened investigations into 12 Shia Muslim individuals from Egypt, Morocco, Iraq and Australia arrested in September on charges of "promoting Shia doctrines and disparaging Sunni doctrines and the prophet’s companions."
They were also charged with "falsifying" the Muslim holy book, the Quran.
Investigations have so far revealed that the men received funds from "several foreign countries."
Members of the Shia sect claim that one of their number, Ahmed Hassan al-Yamani, who is wanted by police, is the “Awaited Mahdi” or the expected messiah of the Shia faith.
They all confessed to not recognizing Prophet Muhammad's historical successors, who they claim were "elected by men"–with the exception of Ali bin Abi Taleb, who they say was "elected by God." They also reject much of the Hadith, or the words and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad.
Since the early 2000s, authorities have periodically arrested Egyptian Shia Muslims.
In May 2009, Egyptian police detained 11 Shias for organizing meetings allegedly aimed at promoting "Shia ideologies that insult Islam and the Sunni sect."
Egypt's constitution grants freedom of religion to all citizens, but rights campaigners say the country's Shias face police harassment motivated by contempt for Shia beliefs and suspicions of links with regional rival Iran.
Shia Muslims represent less than 0.5 percent of Egypt's total population of roughly 78 million.
According to Egypt's Al-Azhar Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, the country's highest religious authority, Muslims can adopt any faith but should not promote their beliefs among the public to avoid confusing the latter regarding accepted ethic and moral values.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
