Bahrain Mirror: The New York Times described Bahrain's decision to revoke the citizenship of a top cleric, who is regarded as the spiritual voice of the country's Shiite majority, Sheikh Isa Qassim, as an escalating crackdown on political opposition by the Sunni monarchy in Bahrain.

Bahrain has been periodically roiled by protests seeking more democracy since the Arab Spring uprisings five years ago, and its police and security agencies have a reputation for using disproportionate force. Ayatollah Qassim has been an outspoken critic of the government's tactics, said the American daily newspaper.

The Bahraini Interior Ministry claimed in a statement that Ayatollah Qassim, through sermons and religious edicts, had fomented sectarianism, collected funds unlawfully and "exploited the religious pulpit for political purposes to serve foreign interests."

The ministry did not make clear what was meant by "foreign interests," but the phrase was assumed to refer to Iran, the Shiite-majority power that competes with Sunni-led Saudi Arabia for influence in the region, added the NYT.

The statement also did not specify what would happen to Ayatollah Qassim. Meanwhile, the Bahraini authorities have expelled many people after revoking their citizenship.

"The move against Ayatollah Qassim was the latest in a series of increasingly tough measures taken by the authorities in the past few weeks to neutralize their perceived political adversaries," it further stated.

Arabic Version