Bahrain revokes citizenship of top Shi’a cleric

Rasa – Bahrain has revoked the citizenship of the country’s most senior Shi’a cleric, Shaykh Isa Qasim, a move which could further complicate the social unrest in the tiny Persian Gulf Arab state.

News ID: 422477

Date: 20 June 2016 - 17:38

RNA – “Isa Ahmad Qasim has been stripped of his Bahraini citizenship,” state news agency BNA said on Monday in a short message on its Twitter account.

The Bahrain Mirror, a website close to the Bahraini opposition, also said on Monday that authorities stripped Shaykh Qasim of citizenship claiming that he has been involved in spreading extremism.

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that Shaykh Qasim actively sought the “creation of a sectarian environment” through his connections with foreign powers. The ministry claimed that the cleric had misused his religious position to advance a political agenda and serve foreign interests.

The Interior Ministry’s statement added that the senior cleric “caused harm to the interests of the Bahraini kingdom or had acted contrary to the duty of loyalty to the government.”

Describing as illegal donations to Shaykh Qasim by his followers in Bahrain, the statement further accused the cleric of receiving money and using it without obtaining the required legal licenses.

Shaykh Qasim is Bahrain’s most respected Shi’a cleric and Shi’a Muslims give donations to him based on their religious principles.

Reports said the Bahraini government had issued a decree approving the move to revoke the citizenship of Shaykh Qasim.

The decision comes less than a week after the Bahraini Justice Ministry suspended all activities of al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, the main opposition group in the country.

al-Wefaq’s Secretary General Shaykh Ali Salman has been in prison since December 2014.

Manama has also dissolved al-Tawiyah and al-Risalah Islamic associations.

Bahrain, a close ally of the US in the Persian Gulf region, has seen a wave of anti-government protests since mid-February 2011. The tiny sheikdom's heavy-handed crackdown on peaceful demonstrations with the help of Saudi Arabia has left dozens of people dead and hundreds more injured.

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Bahrain revokes citizenship of top Shi’a cleric

Rasa – Bahrain has revoked the citizenship of the country’s most senior Shi’a cleric, Shaykh Isa Qasim, a move which could further complicate the social unrest in the tiny Persian Gulf Arab state.

RNA – “Isa Ahmad Qasim has been stripped of his Bahraini citizenship,” state news agency BNA said on Monday in a short message on its Twitter account.

The Bahrain Mirror, a website close to the Bahraini opposition, also said on Monday that authorities stripped Shaykh Qasim of citizenship claiming that he has been involved in spreading extremism.

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that Shaykh Qasim actively sought the “creation of a sectarian environment” through his connections with foreign powers. The ministry claimed that the cleric had misused his religious position to advance a political agenda and serve foreign interests.

The Interior Ministry’s statement added that the senior cleric “caused harm to the interests of the Bahraini kingdom or had acted contrary to the duty of loyalty to the government.”

Describing as illegal donations to Shaykh Qasim by his followers in Bahrain, the statement further accused the cleric of receiving money and using it without obtaining the required legal licenses.

Shaykh Qasim is Bahrain’s most respected Shi’a cleric and Shi’a Muslims give donations to him based on their religious principles.

Reports said the Bahraini government had issued a decree approving the move to revoke the citizenship of Shaykh Qasim.

The decision comes less than a week after the Bahraini Justice Ministry suspended all activities of al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, the main opposition group in the country.

al-Wefaq’s Secretary General Shaykh Ali Salman has been in prison since December 2014.

Manama has also dissolved al-Tawiyah and al-Risalah Islamic associations.

Bahrain, a close ally of the US in the Persian Gulf region, has seen a wave of anti-government protests since mid-February 2011. The tiny sheikdom's heavy-handed crackdown on peaceful demonstrations with the help of Saudi Arabia has left dozens of people dead and hundreds more injured.

R111/112/E