THERE is a troubling trend towards religious extremism in Malaysia, what with brazen acts of intolerance emerging in recent times, said academics.

Echoing the concern of Prof Syed Farid Alatas of National University of Singapore recently regarding persecution of Shias in Malaysia by the Sunni religious authorities, director of Islamic Renaissance Front Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa said: “The persecution against ‘the Other’, such as Shias, was a clear and succinct example. Not to mention about the Ahmadis who were also denied of their rights to practise their belief.