Shortly after the parliamentary elections in Bahrain last month, security forces raided the home of the country’s premier Shi’a religious scholar and spiritual guide for the opposition, Issa Qassem, in an act considered sacrosanct in the Islamic tradition.
The government claimed that it had raided Qassem’s home in search of a terrorist, who was not found on the premise. Many suspect the raid came in retaliation for his criticism of the electoral process, which is hardly democratic and is weighted against Bahrain’s majority Shi’a population.
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