39 Bahraini clerics:

Our people demand equal citizenship, not sectarian state

Rasa – A group of Shi’a clerics in Bahrain has called for the promotion of equality in the Shi’a majority Persian Gulf country, which has a Sunni-dominated government.

News ID: 4047

Date: 08 March 2016 - 20:13

RNA – Nearly 40 Shi’a clerics said in a statement released on Tuesday that Shi’a citizens of Bahrain “have always called for citizenship equality... without any discrimination based on ethnicity, color, religion or sect.”

Led by Ayatollah Shaykh Isa Ahmad Qasim, Bahrain's leading Shi’a cleric and the spiritual leader of the main opposition movement al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, the clerics stated that the people have the right to demand a ruling system on the basis of “a constitution that does not sideline the will of the people.”

The statement said Bahraini people should have “free elections” to elect a parliament that has full powers and is not controlled by “other authorities, and have a say in choosing the government.”

The clerics insisted that their majority community in Bahrain has never sought “a sectarian state... let alone a one-sect state,” while demanding protection for the freedom to practice religious rites.

The Shi’a majority of Bahrain has long complained of being discriminated against in obtaining jobs and services by the Bahraini regime.

Since February 14, 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous demonstrations on an almost daily basis in the kingdom, calling for the Al Khalifah family to relinquish power.

In March that year, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were called in to assist the Manama regime in its crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy protesters.

Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured or arrested in the ongoing heavy-handed crackdown on anti-regime rallies.

Amnesty International and other human rights groups have repeatedly censured the Bahraini regime over the “rampant” rights abuses against opposition activists and anti-government protesters.

The statement is as follows:

In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

We, the undersigned on this statement, emphasize:

The people and clerics of Bahrain have not raised demands for a sectarian state nor a one-color state of one religious faith, at first, and they do not today.

The clerics stand on the people’s side in support of right to a constitutional-based-government of which their fate and interests are tied to. We support the right to a constitution that respects the will of, and is approved by the people. We emphasize on our people’s right to fair and free elections, whereby the people can truly select their representatives in a parliament that expresses their will. The parliament must enjoy full-power without the burden of orders coming from the other two powers, and must also be respected in the selection of its government. The judiciary must serve justice without being forced to go against the constitution. Our people have been raising demands for right to equal citizenship and attributed rights and duties, without discrimination on ethnic, racist, religious or sectarian grounds. Efficiency and honesty must be strict terms in the formation of the government and its institutions, positions and public jobs in the state. We must work together to strengthen Islamic unity, and national unity among all segments of society.

This demand for reform, which has been the real goal of the movement, is also the pledge made by the National Action Charter and the verbal and written promises of state officials in the periods preceding and accompanying the vote on the Charter.

Moreover, this pro-reform demand is ensured by international covenants.

To this date, our Government is not denying that this is a righteous demand, though it is not responding.

In regards to the religious rituals of recognized faiths; it is the responsibility of the three powers, and in accordance to the constitution, the Charter and universal covenants, to protect the identity of these rituals without interfering in their affairs, or harassing and questioning the organizers.

This is a right no faith believers can give up.

This is the truth of the popular demand which the clerics see and an obligatory duty of the rulers.

Monday, 7th March 2016

Ayatollah Shaykh Isa Ahmad Qasim
Sayyed Abdullah al-Ghurayfi
Shaykh Abdul-Husayn Sitri
Shaykh Muhammed Salih al-Ruba’i
Shaykh Muhammad Sanqour
Shaykh Mahmoud al-aali
Sayed Majid al-Mish’al
Sayed Saeed al-Wida’e
Shaykh Isa Eid
Sayed Muhammad al-Ghurayfi
Shaykh Fadhel Zaki
Shaykh al-i Mansour Sanad
Shaykh Muhammad al-Kursi
Shaykh Sadiq al-Afiyah
Shaykh Muhammad Mansi
Shaykh Jasim al-Khayat
Shaykh Hamzah al-Dayri
Shaykh Ali Rahmah
Shaykh Ra’ed al-Sitri
Shaykh Ibrahim al-Safa
Shaykh Ja’far al-Ali al-Sitri
Shaykh Muhammad Jawad al-Shihabi
Sayyed Majid al-Alawi
Sayyed Hashim al-Bahrani
Shaykh Hani al-Banna’
Shaykh Munir Matouq
Shaykh Hussein al-Mahrous
Sayyed Mohsen al-Ghurayfi
Shaykh Ja’far Shariqi
Shaykh Abdul Hasan al-Ghadiri
Shaykh Radhi Mullah Khalil
Shaykh Isa al-Mo’men
Shaykh Sa’id al-Madih
Shaykh Ali al-Mitghawi
Shaykh Jamil al-Aali
Sayyed Murtadha al-Musawi
Shaykh Ibrahim Dimistani
Shaykh Mustafa al-Saru
Shaykh Hasan Ali Radhi

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