Alwaght- Top Bahraini Shiite Muslim scholars have slammed the ruling Al Khalifa regime for removing flags and other religious symbols used for commemorating the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein AS.
Top Shiite Islamic scholars including Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim, Sheikh Abdullah al-Ghuraifi and Sayed Jawad al-Wada'i issued a signed statement on Wednesday stating that, “The removal of black flags in some areas is regarded as a violation of the mourning ceremonies and infringement against freedom to practice religious rituals which are guaranteed constitutionally.”
"(These rituals) have been practiced in this country for hundreds of years and no one had dared to stop them or to transgress or infringe on them," they added.
The statement was issued after Al Khalifa regime forces clashed with Shiite villagers overnight Tuesday, pulling down Ashura banners set up in what police called "undesignated areas" of villages outside the capital, Manama.
Shi'ite Muslims organize wake houses and display black banners of mourning in the first ten day of the first Islamic Lunar month of Muharram leading to Ashura, the anniversary of the death of Prophet Mohammad's SAW grandson, Imam Hussein AS in battle in Karbala some 1,400 years ago.
The Bahrain Human Rights Observatory (BHRO) has also denounced the regime’s authorities' ongoing violations of the citizens' religious right to practice their religious rituals during the month of Muharram.
Bahrain’s main opposition movement, al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, also condemned the Al Khalifa regime’s police for excessive use of force against Shiite mourners commemorating the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein AS.
Since mid-February 2011, thousands of anti-regime protesters have held numerous marches on the streets of Bahrain, calling for Al-Khalifa family to leave power.
Many Bahrainis have been killed and hundreds of others were injured or arrested in the ongoing crackdown on peaceful protests.