Top cleric Sheikh Qassim censures Bahrain’s plan to host Israeli delegation

Bahrain’s top Shia Cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim has denounced the Manama regime for a plan to host an Israeli delegation later this month, describing it as a step on the path to “humiliation and capitulation” to the foremost enemy of the Muslim world.

“Hosting and greeting the Zionists at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, which is to be held in Bahrain, is a bold step on a dishonorable path; that of humiliation, capitulation and shamelessness,” Sheikh Qassim said in a statement carried by Arabic-language Lua Lua TV network on Tuesday.

Four Israelis are expected to speak at the three-day event due in Manama on April 15-18.

The top cleric said the Israeli regime tops the list of the Muslim world’s enemies. He added that Manama’s plan to take the Israelis was in line with its attempts to compromise and normalize ties with the enemy, with which Bahrain – like most other Arab countries -- has no open diplomatic contacts.

This is a clear sign of the Manama regime’s disregard for Islam and the will of the nation, said Sheikh Qassim, the spiritual leader of Bahrain’s dissolved opposition bloc the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, who had his citizenship revoked in 2016 as part of the Ale Khalifah regime’s suppression campaign against dissidents.

“It is an open confrontation with our nation and a fierce battle against our existence,” he added.

Sheikh Qassim further warned that any compromise with the enemy would “pave the way for it to advance its conspiracies within the ranks of the Bahraini nation,” and lead to “a very catastrophic outcome for the nation and its unity.”

The planned visit triggered a backlash among Bahraini lawmakers, who stressed their support for the Palestinian cause and voiced their opposition to the hosting of the Israelis in their country. 

Israel has full diplomatic ties with only two Arab states, Egypt and Jordan, but latest reports suggest the regime is working behind the scenes to establish formal contact with Saudi Arabia and its allies such as Bahrain.

ME