Shia Muslims around the world face violence and discrimination for their religious beliefs. There are over 1.2 million Shia Muslims in the world which means that the violence from last year alone killed 1 percent of the entire Shia population, according to Shia Rights Watch.
There are terms to describe hateful language or acts towards a group of people, such as anti-Semitism, and we would like a similar term to be extended to the Shia community.
The adoption of the term anti-Shiism in the international community will show the world that violence and discrimination against Shia civilians are human rights violations that need to end immediately.
The United States has the international influence to spread the usage of this term, and make anti-Shiism a human rights priority worldwide.