Bahraini scholars attend protest in support of Sheikh Qassim

Religious scholars in Bahrain have attended a protest in support of the country’s top religious figure Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim as the Manama regime intensifies the crackdown on members of the religious community.

Hundreds of religous scholars gathered at a main square of the village of Diraz, west of Manama, to back Sheikh Qassim in the face of the regime’s mounting pressure on the cleric.

The protesters, clad in white shrouds to show that they are ready to die for Sheikh Qassim, held images of the cleric and chanted slogans against the ruling Aal-e Khalifah regime.

Reports said security forces attacked the gathering. They also attempted to arrest two young clerics but escaped the scene after the protest intensified.

A statement issued at the end of the gathering said the clerics have felt the need to take to the streets to show their discontent with the regime’s intensifying crackdown on religious figures.

Bahrain has issued an increasing number of jail sentences against notable opposition figures over the past months. The courts in the kingdom have also stripped many, including Sheikh Qassim, of citizenship, prompting concerns that the regime is pursuing a policy of ethnic cleansing.

Manama repealed Sheikh Isa Qassim’s citizenship on June 20 amid an intensifying crackdown on the pro-democracy drive across the Persian Gulf country. Shortly afterward, the military surrounded Diraz, his native village, with checkpoints, stopping people from entering it.

SS