QOM/MASHHAD/TEHRAN – A large number of clerics and seminary students staged rallies on Wednesday in Qom, Mashhad and Tehran in protest at the killing of Bahraini protesters and in support of the popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa.
Grand Ayatollahs Lotfollah Safi Golpaygani, Naser Makarem Shirazi, Seyyed Mousavi Shobeiri Zanjani, Abdollah Javadi Amoli, and Hossein Nouri Hamedani took part in the rally in Qom. The clerics shouted slogans in condemnation of the foreign countries’ intervention in the Islamic countries’ affairs and massacre of Muslims especially in Bahrain.
“All Muslims around the world, whether Shia or Sunni, must support the oppressed Muslims using any means,” Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi told reporters on the sidelines of the rally.
He also condemned the silence of international and Islamic organizations about the massacre of Bahrainis.
Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani told reporters that the despotic rulers should know “their day of decline has come.”
He also said that the arrogant powers should know that the era of their bullying in the Middle East has come to an end and they don’t have any place in this region any more.
Assembly of Experts Chairman Ayatollah Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani addressed the gathering of seminary teachers and students in Tehran.
“Muslims are obligated to convey the voice of the oppressed and defenseless people of the countries in which the Islamic awakening has taken place,” he said.
He also called on the international forums and the United Nations to listen to the voice of people and try to stop the continuation of massacre in these countries.
Protests in Bahrain started on February 14 as the Bahraini opposition inspired by the uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa organized an anti-government rally in Manama.
The Bahraini government resorted to violence to put down the unrest, but failed to contain the protests.
Later, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates dispatched troops to Bahrain to suppress the protesters, a move which prompted strong criticisms from the Iranian officials and clerics.
The Sunni rulers have been in power for years in the strategic Persian Gulf kingdom, which is mostly populated by Shia Muslims.
The Bahraini Shias have always called for greater political voice and complained about discriminations against them. Read More
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