On 29 March, the Malaysian press reported a bomb threat against Hotel Jen in Penang. On 24 March, operatives from the Islamic State sent letters bearing IS symbols to the hotel threatening to bomb it if Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, a Hindu meditation guru from India, stayed there. The threat letters said the guru “had labeled Muslims in Iran and Iraq as infidels and was involved in wrongful activities,” so reported The Malaysian Insider.

Shankar’s staff asserted: “Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is touring some countries in the Far East and he landed in Malaysia yesterday (March 27) and few days ago, while he was in Cambodia, we received threat letters from IS.” The staff said the letters threatened to kill Shankar at any venue he visited, and that they would kill thousands around him as well.

The guru held his mass meditation session with 70,000 in attendance at Batu Kawan Stadium without incident. Penang Police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi said a security sweep of the hotel was conducted with no explosive devices found.

On 26 March, Malaysians authorities arrested two presumed IS operatives from Iraq planning attacks on the Saudi Arabian and Qatar embassies in Kuala Lumpur.

Sources and further reading:

Cops arrest two Iraqis from IS terror cell, 29 March 2015.

Penang hotel manager receives bomb threat, 29 March 2015.

Indian spiritual leader gets death threats from IS during Malaysia visit, 29 March 2015.

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