Alwaght- Bahrain’s senior-most Shiite Shiite cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim has denounced rulers of the tiny Persian Gulf monarchy for a plan to host an Israeli regime’s delegation later this month.
Sheikh Qassim described the move as a step on the path to “humiliation and capitulation” to the foremost enemy of the Muslim world.
“Hosting and greeting the Zionists at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, which is to be held in Bahrain, is a bold step on a dishonorable path; that of humiliation, capitulation and shamelessness,” Sheikh Qassim said in a statement carried by Arabic-language Lua Lua TV network on Tuesday.
Four Zionists are expected to speak at the three-day event due in Manama on April 15-18.
The top cleric said the Israeli regime tops the list of the Muslim world’s enemies. He added that Manama’s plan to take the Israelis was in line with its attempts to compromise and normalize ties with the enemy, with which Bahrain – like most other Arab countries -- has no open diplomatic contacts.
This is a clear sign of the Manama regime’s disregard for Islam and the will of the nation, said Sheikh Qassim, the spiritual leader of Bahrain’s dissolved opposition bloc the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, who had his citizenship revoked in 2016 as part of the Al Khalifah regime’s suppression campaign against dissidents.
“It is an open confrontation with our nation and a fierce battle against our existence,” he added.
Sheikh Qassim further warned that any compromise with the enemy would “pave the way for it to advance its conspiracies within the ranks of the Bahraini nation,” and lead to “a very catastrophic outcome for the nation and its unity.”
The planned visit has triggered a backlash among Bahraini lawmakers, who have stressed their support for the Palestinian cause and voiced their opposition to the hosting of Israel's representatives in their country.
The usurper Israeli regime has full diplomatic ties with only two Arab states, Egypt and Jordan, but latest reports suggest the regime is working behind the scenes to establish formal contacts with Saudi Arabia and its allies, one of them being Bahrain.
