Senior Member of Bahrain’s al-Wafaa Islamic Party:

'Al Khalifah worried about financial independence of Bahraini Shi’as'

Rasa – A Bahraini political activist stressed that another concern for the regime is the issue of khums', because it is a type of financial independence for Shi’as as it frees them from dependence on governments.

News ID: 422585

Date: 21 July 2016 - 16:55

RNA – In an interview with Rasa News Agency, Hujjat al-Islam Sayyid Murtadha al-Sanadi noted that in recent months and weeks, the Al Khalifah dictatorial regime has stepped up its anti-Shi’a activities in Bahrain.

In regard to news that the spiritual leader of Bahraini Shi’as, Shaykh Isa Qasim, will go on trial early next month on charges of “illegal fund collections and money laundering,” the senior member of the al-Wafaa Islamic Party said that such accusations are attempts to remove the main leadership of the Bahraini Revolution from the scene.

He added that another concern for the regime is the issue of khums', a religious tax collected by Shi’as, because it is a type of financial independence for Shi’as as it frees them from dependence on governments. In fact, the Al Khalifah regime is looking to limit the financial abilities of Shi’as in the kingdom.

“Therefore, accusations of illegal fund collections and money laundering are, in essence, attempts to control khums and put pressure on the Shi’as,” he said.

Hujjat al-Islam al-Sanadi said that the repeated attacks on Ayatollah Isa Qasim are a message from the regime to Shi’as, who form the majority of Bahrain’s citizens, that they must realize that there is no red line.

“The main opponents of the regime are Shi’as and an attack on Ayatollah Qasim is in fact an attack on the Bahraini Revolution and revolutionaries and the law to ban the payment of khums to the Shi’a scholars was passed in line with these goals,” he said.

The Bahraini political activist said that the unprecedented move by the dictatorial Al Khalifah regime to revoke Ayatollah Qasim’s citizenship led to widespread protests in Bahrain and many people immediately staged a protest in front of his house.

Hujjat al-Islam al-Sanadi explained that Al Khalifah did not think that their edict would have such severe consequences. They thought that by issuing this edict, Ayatollah Qasim would be forced to leave the country but this scheme failed and they had to come up with a new plan.

In this new scenario, the government seeks to use the pre-existing issue of religious taxes to charge Ayatollah Qasim with money laundering and then detain him and imprison him after a trial.

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