Criticism of Shia cleric fuels clashes in Bahrain

DPA/Manama

Friday prayer sermons are an opportunity to monitor the whole spectrum of social life to detect mistakes

Clashes between Bahraini protesters and police broke out in the capital Manama and Shia villages over recent government criticism of a key Shia clergyman, who remained defiant in his sermon yesterday. Several injuries and arrests among the protesters were reported by Internet activists during the clashes, which began late Thursday and lasted into early yesterday. Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs Sheikh Khalid bin Ali al-Khalifah sent a letter on Monday to the country’s top Shia clergyman, Sheikh Isa Qassim, accusing him of stoking sectarian tensions and violence. The letter accused Qassim of using his Friday prayer sermons to call on supporters to boycott next month’s parliamentary by-elections. News of the letter’s content angered leading Shia clergymen who interpreted it as an insult and indirect threat to Qassim. They vowed to stand by him and called on their followers to join them in a unified Friday prayer to be led by him in Duraz village, north Manama. Thousands turned out for Qassim’s sermon, despite police setting up checkpoints on major roads leading to the area. The checkpoints were removed before the start of the prayers, though a police helicopter hovered above the mosque until the worshippers dispersed. “Friday prayer sermons are an opportunity to monitor the whole spectrum of social life to detect mistakes and threats to correct them, and there are no exceptions to that be it social, political, or economic,” Qassim said in defiance of the threat to ban him. Qassim also warned the government that there was no escape from carrying out reforms demanded by the people. “Delays in carrying out such reforms are a risk for any regime that wants to survive today,” he said. The leading Shia opposition group, Wefaq, which considers Qassim its spiritual leader, on Tuesday reiterated calls to boycott next month’s by-elections. Wefaq vacated its 18 parliamentary seats in a mass resignation in February to protest the killings of pro-reform demonstrators by security forces. Protests demanding political reform and greater freedoms in Bahrain began on February 14. All the leading opposition groups, including liberal leftists, announced their intention to boycott the elections in recent days, demanding that real reforms be introduced. The overnight protests were also fuelled by anger over the banning of Quds Day celebrations. Quds Day is observed on the last Friday of Ramadan to express solidarity with the Palestinian people. The late leader of the Iranian revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini, called for the annual rallies shortly after taking power in 1979. Bahrainis have been marking the event since the 1980s, and the Quds Day rallies in recent years had attracted thousands.