Bahrain Mirror: The residents of Diraz expressed their rejection of the Ministry of Justice's attempt to nominate a preacher for the Imam Sadiq Mosque in Diraz (the largest Shiite mosque in Bahrain), demanding "to lift their grip from this religious rite."

Reports said that the Justice Minister Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa intervened in the nomination of a preacher before allowing the return of Friday prayers at the mosque, where Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim has led prayers more than two years ago.

The residents said in a statement that the Friday prayer ritual in the area is banned by the official authorities, despite opening the area less than a month ago and ending the siege that lasted two years.

"The Friday prayer is a purely religious ritual, so no party or group has the right to impose its way, method, details of practice, as well as who leads the prayers and preaches. Therefore, what the official authorities are doing is a blatant confiscation of the right to practice religious rituals, by attempts to impose a certain orientation whether directly or indirectly."

"Friday prayers this week mark 118 weeks of ban, under different arguments and justifications, which are neither approved by religion nor accepted by the Sharia and any law," the residents added.

They demanded the authorities lift their hands off this purely religious rite, and not to impose any form of official guardianship over such Shiite rituals, which the regime has banned, within a continuous systematic religious harassment.

They also called for an end to the official sectarian targeting and harassment, which has resulted in injustice, abuse, retaliation, and intense political rivalry, as the authorities have intensified their acts of repression to the highest level by targeting the Khoms rite, and revoking the citizenship of the highest Shiite figure in Bahrain, Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim.

Arabic Version