The secretary general of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought denounced Manama’s move to strip top Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim of his citizenship.
Speaking to Tasnim News Agency on Friday, Ayatollah Mohsen Araki stressed that such improper measures by the Al Khalifa rulers will backfire and they will not achieve their “vicious purposes” with such hostile decisions.
He referred to Sheikh Qassim as a cleric of noble blood with his roots in Bahrain, arguing that this is the Al Khalifa royal family “who are aliens, since they launched a military attack on the Persian Gulf island state more than a century ago and conquered its territories”.
Last week, Bahrain said the citizenship of Sheikh Qassim has been revoked, accusing him of sowing sectarian discord.
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry alleged in a statement that the popular sheikh had used his position to “serve foreign interests and promote sectarianism and violence.”
The decision has drawn widespread international condemnation.
