Manama, April 05: The World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought has called on all Muslim scholars to show support for Bahrainis in their quest for freedom and constitutional monarchy in the Persian Gulf state.
Secretary General of the organization, Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Taskhiri, on Monday urged Muslim religious leaders not to turn their back on legitimate and peaceful demonstrations in Bahrain and oppose the western-backed al-Khalifa royal family, IRNA reported.
He strongly denounced the government-sanctioned brutal crackdown against peaceful Bahraini demonstrators and the mass arrests of political dissidents.
The head of the World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought also urged the head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, and the Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, to take up a firm stance and advocate the Bahrain revolution.
The Human Rights Watch has accused Bahraini forces of beating and detaining wounded protesters and even denying them life-saving treatment.
Bahrain’s main opposition bloc says at least 250 people have been detained and 44 others have gone missing since a brutal government crackdown against protesters.
Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society member and former lawmaker, Mattar Ibrahim
Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar dispatched their armed forces to assist the Bahraini regime against protesting civilians
Saudi Arabia and other Arab states in the region fear that any concession by Bahraini rulers could embolden more protests against their own rule.
The US military, which has its Fifth Fleet based there, has avoided describing the foreign troop intervention in Bahrain as an invasion.
Bahraini demonstrators maintain that they will continue with their protests until their demands for freedom, constitutional monarchy as well as a proportional voice in the government are met.
More than 25 people have so far been killed and some 3,000 others have been injured as a result of government-authorized violence since anti-government protests began in Bahrain in mid-February.
——–Agencies