By Reuters

The move against Ayatollah Isa Qassim comes less than a week after a court ordered Bahrain’s main opposition al-Wefaq
group closed, accusing it of fomenting sectarian unrest and of having
links to a foreign power, in an apparent reference to regional Shi’ite
power Iran. Qassim could potentially face expulsion from the country.

A crowd of up to 4,000 people gathered outside Qassim’s house in the
Shi’ite village of Diraz, west of the capital Manama, to show their
support for him, witnesses said. In a bluntly worded reaction, the top commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Qassem Soleimani, warned the Bahraini government that it would pay a price for its decision and suggested Bahrainis may respond with armed action.

“The Al Khalifa (rulers of Bahrain) surely know their aggression
against Sheikh Isa Qassim is a red line and that crossing it would set
Bahrain and the whole region on fire, and it would leave no choice for
people but to resort to armed resistance,” Soleimani said in a statement
published by Fars news agency.

Soleimani heads the Qods Force, the elite special forces arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, also
called on the people of Bahrain to express anger, warning that the move
against Qassim “pushes the Bahraini people to difficult choices which
will have severe consequences for this corrupt dictatorial regime”.

Hezbollah said the Bahraini government had reached “the end of the
road” in dealing with what it called a peaceful, popular movement.

Bahrain in 2011 crushed an uprising by Shi’ites demanding reforms
that would give them a bigger voice in governing the Sunni Muslim-ruled
country, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is based as a bulwark against Iran.

Discontent

But discontent still smoulders on the streets of Bahrain, where a
financial crisis caused by lower oil prices has caused a slowdown in the
economy.

BNA, quoting an Interior Ministry statement, said Qassim had been
trying to divide Bahraini society, encourage youths to violate the
constitution and promote a sectarian environment in the country.

“Based on that, the Bahraini citizenship had been dropped from Isa
Ahmed Qassim, who since he acquired Bahraini citizenship had sought to
form organisations that follow foreign religious and political
reference,” BNA said.

Qassim’s official website says he was born in a Shi’ite village in
the kingdom in the 1940s, when the island state was still under British
rule.

The crowds gathered outside Qassim’s house chanted Shi’ite slogans, witnesses said.

“With our soul, with our blood we sacrifice ourselves for you,
Hussein!” they chanted, invoking the name of the Prophet Muhammad’s
grandson, Imam Hussein, who is revered by Shi’ite Muslims.

Social media footage showed Qassim standing outside what looked like his home saluting the crowds.

Dozens of police vehicles were seen surrounding Diraz, the witnesses said, but there were no reports of clashes.

Hezbollah says decision ‘dangerous’

The powerful Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah called Bahrain’s
decision “extremely dangerous” and warned it would bring severe
consequences to the ruling system.

“The authorities, with their stupidity and recklessness, are pushing
the Bahraini people to difficult choices, which will have severe
consequences for this corrupt dictatorial regime,” Hezbollah said in a
statement.

Bahrain earlier accused the Iran-backed Hezbollah of supporting
militants behind a spate of bombings in the country and has designated
the group a terrorist organisation.

The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy said the withdrawal of Qassim’s citizenship would stoke unrest.

“We are deeply concerned that these actions will escalate tensions on
the streets and may even lead to violence, as targeting the country’s
leading Shi’ite cleric is considered to be a red line for many
Bahrainis,” Sayed Ahmed al-Wadaei, the institute’s director of advocacy,
said in a statement.

Bahraini media last week reported that authorities have been
investigating a bank account of some $10 million in Qassim’s name to
examine where it was getting funds and how they were being spent.

The move spurred a strongly worded statement from top clerics,
including Qassim, against any attempt to meddle with the collection of a
Muslim tax called Khums, which is a pillar of Shi’ite Islam.

Bahrain has stripped more than 250 people of their citizenship over
the past two years, apparently in a campaign to stifle any political
opposition, and banished many of them.

(REUTERS)