Saudi authorities move quickly to reassure Shiites

In the wake of a terrorist attack that left eight people dead and at least 12 wounded in the Eastern Province village of Al-Dalwah on 3 November, the Saudi authorities moved quickly to arrest the alleged perpetrators and reassure the province’s Shia community. Three attackers armed with machine guns attacked a group of young Shia who had just left a Husseiniya or congregation hall, where they had attended an Ashura ceremony, commemorating the death in 680 AD of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussein, a moment that led to the schism between Sunni and Shia Islam.