A number of Bahraini clerics urged the people of the Persian Gulf country to join anti-regime rallies and march toward the house of Sheikh Isa Qassem, the spiritual leader of Bahrain’s Shiites, in the restive town of Diraz in support of the top cleric.
In a joint statement, the clerics called on Bahraini citizens to march toward the house of Sheikh Qassim in Diraz, west of Manama, on Monday night.
The statement also described efforts to defend the top cleric against the ruling Al Khalifa regime as defending Islam and a clear religious duty for Shiites.
The statement came as Bahrain’s opposition groups have called on the people of the Arab kingdom to participate in a civil disobedience campaign in solidarity with Sheikh Qassem, as Manama plans to hold the trial of the top cleric on March 14.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Bahraini revolutionary groups announced that the civil disobedience campaign will start on Tuesday, March 14, and last until Wednesday morning.
It asked students to refuse to go to schools or universities on Tuesday and instead pour into streets and gather in front of the house of Sheikh Qassim in Diraz, west of Manama.
The trial session of Sheikh Qassim had been scheduled on February 27 but was adjourned until March 14 after the prominent cleric refused to appear in court.
The Bahraini regime announced on June 20, 2016, that it had revoked the citizenship of Sheikh Qassim for alleged false accusations of fund raising to support terrorism.
Source: Tasnim News Agency
