Bahrain Mirror: A religious commission in Bahrain assigned by the king said that disrupting Friday prayers in mosques by Shiites "indicates non-affiliation to Islam."

The Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (SCIA), whose members are assigned by a decree issued by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, said in a statement on Saturday (June 18, 2016) that "the calls by some partisan movements to disrupt the Friday and congregation prayers in mosques, as a manifestation of political opposition to the government, indicated non-affiliation to Islam."

Imams of Shiites mosques in Bahrain announced disrupting  prayers in mosques on Thursday night and Friday for an indefinite period due to what they called "not feeling safe" after the authorities summoned a number of Shiite clerics.

Two members of the ruling family signed the statement as well as Sunni clerics and 7 Shiite clerics, who have close ties with the government.

The council said "it was shocked by the tendentious attempts that strive to involve citizens in the distorted and failed partisan projects."

It considered that the "the calls by some partisan movements to disrupt the Friday and congregation prayers in mosques, as a manifestation of political opposition to the government, indicated non-affiliation to Islam. This is a distortion of the religion that has never been witnessed by Muslims and a very curious initiative that not only politicizes the mosques and places of worship, but also desecrates their sanctity as well. Disrupting prayers was a desperate and miserable attempt to disable mosques, stall their leading religious and social roles, degrade their significance and seek their ruin, all of which are among the greatest crimes and major sins unanimously condemned by all Muslims."

Signatories:

Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalid Al Khalifa

Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Rashid Al Khalifa

Sheikh Abdullatif Mahmoud Al Mahmoud

Sheikh Abdulhussein Khalaf Al-Asfour

Sheikh Ibrahim bin Abdullatif Al Sa'ad

Sheikh Rashid Mohammad Al-Hajari

Sheikh Faird bin Yackoub Al-Muftah

Sheikh Adnan Abdullah Al-Qattan

Sheikh Mohammad Mullah Ahmad Al-Toublani

Sheikh Mansour Ali Hmede

Sheikh Mohammad Hassan Al-Sheikh

Sheikh Suleiman Mansour Al-Sitri

Sheikh Jamil Mohammad Al-Qassab

Sheikh Isam Mohammad Al-Abbasi

Sheikh Jawad Abdullah Hussein

Sheikh Mohammad Jaafar Al-Jufairi

Arabic Version