(AFP) Malaysian authorities are detaining three Shia Muslims purely on account of their faith, a group representing the minority branch of Islam said today.

The Shia Action Community told the human rights commission that six Shia Muslims were arrested under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) between Oct 20 and Jan 5, and that three were still detained.

"We believe the six were detained purely because they follow the Shia faith," the group said in a memorandum.

Muhammad Aidi Abdul Ghani, the group's chairman, told the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) that the three were being held under two-year detention orders.

"We maintain that the arrests and detention are unIslamic, unconstitutional and against human rights," he told two commissioners of Suhakam.

In February the Suaram rights group made a similar complaint. Muslims in Malaysia are overwhelmingly Sunnis, with only an estimated 2,000-3,000 Shias.

Complaint to be discussed

The commissioners told reporters they would discuss the complaint with other commissioners before deciding what action to take.

"We hope Suhakam can play a role to ensure Muslim unity. We are here to ask you to resolve the problem," Muhammad added.

Muhammad said that in late 1997 10 Shia Muslims were briefly detained, some under the ISA.

The memorandum urged Suhakam to condemn what it called the harassment and arrest of Shia Muslims.

"If they have transgressed any religious teachings within the Islamic tenet they must be charged in a proper court of law and not held under the ISA without trial," it said.

The constitution guarantees freedom of religious belief. But it also says that laws in individual states "may control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons professing the religion of Islam".

Malaysia's widespread use of laws allowing detention without trial has come under the spotlight following the detention of 10 opposition activists since last month.