AhlulBayt News Agency - Bahrain’s Shia scholars in a statement criticized the Al Khalifa regime for continuing to arrest clerics and imams of mosques in its ongoing crackdown on dissent.
In the statement, released on Sunday, they said Shia clerics do not seek violence or crises and that their sermons in mosques are only aimed at explaining religious issues.
"We are not willing to instigate and complicate the situation. We don't want to cause sedition and conflict and we don't call for violence and extremism. We only want to express the true word of religion in a country that we don't think would not embrace it."
"If the expression of religious beliefs isn't allowed to be practiced, then the other option is to shut down mosques and stop prayers. We don't think the authorities are aiming towards that option, since it leads to harsh consequences that we all keen to protect the country from."
Those signing the statement included such figures as The statement signed by Sheikh Isa Qassim, Sheikh Abdulhussein Al-Sitri, Sayed Abdullah Al-Ghoraifi and Sheikh Mohammed Saleh Al-Rabii.
They underlined that it is the responsibility of religious scholars to inform people about religious issues.
Sunday marked the national day of religious freedom in Bahrain.
On this occasion, a number of human rights organizations also issued statements criticizing the regime’s measures to confine people’s religious liberties.
They called on the ruling regime to respect people’s rights and stop religious discrimination.
The Persian Gulf island country has been the scene of an ongoing suppression of protesters who demand the release of opposition figures.
The arrests are part of the Al Khalifah regime’s brutal suppression of anti-regime protesters since 2011. Scores of people have been killed and thousands more wounded during the crackdown.
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