Indonesia Shias under pressure

Religious tensions in Indonesia have heated up once again after calls by some Sunni Muslim religious leaders to ban Shia Islam led to attacks on a religious school and the homes of the Shia community on Madura island in East Java.

Feeling their human-rights have been violated, the Shia population of Madura have asked for protection from Jakarta after Sunni leaders tried to persuade the Shias to abandon their faith or face further attacks.

So far the government has remained silent, seeing the attack in East Java as a local conflict.

Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen reports from East Java.