Bahrainis resume Friday Prayer after 4-week suspension

Bahrainis have held congregational prayers in the tiny Persian Gulf country nearly a month after clergymen declared a pause to the religious ritual in protest at the ruling Aal-e Khalifah regime's heavy-handed crackdown.

The faithfuls converged at the Imam Sadiq Mosque in the northwestern village of Diraz, situated about 12 km west of the capital Manama, to observe Friday Prayer.

The worshipers chanted different slogans, demanding an end to the regime's sectarian policies against them.

They also stressed the need for dialogue as well as public reconciliation to safeguard the country’s security and stability.

The Friday Prayer worshippers later took to the streets in Diraz, expressing their resentment over the Aal-e Khalifah regime’s suppression of political dissent.

Bahraini religious scholars, in a statement titled “Those Barred from Praying” released on June 16, condemned the Manama regime’s efforts to restrict Shia Muslims’ freedom of religion and belief, describing the situation in the country as “deplorable,” Arabic-language Bahrain Mirror news website reported.

The statement said that the Aal-e Khalifah regime’s systematic suppression of Bahraini Shia Muslims had reached its highest level ever, and members of the nation’s largest religious community feel insecure and face threats of arrest and prosecution if they seek to observe their religious rituals, primarily Friday and other congregational prayers.

SS