Hawzah News Agency- The statements reflect growing public opposition to new government licensing requirements for religious preaching and speaking. Residents say the measures amount to overt interference in the specific characteristics of the Jaafari school of thought — the school of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS) — and constitute a restriction on religious freedom.
"An Unacceptable Intervention"
In statements released across multiple regions, residents emphasized that the licensing requirements imposed by official government bodies in Bahrain represent "a clear intervention in the particularities of the Jaafari faith and a restriction on the freedom to perform religious rituals."
They argued the measures violate religious law, the constitution, international law, human rights conventions, and what they described as "the commands of God."
Residents expressed "complete and categorical opposition" to the conditions and restrictions imposed on those seeking to preach, guide, and speak from the religious pulpit, stating that "the religious pulpit and its independence are not a place for compromise or bargaining."
Religious Rights and Legal Protections
The residents added that performing religious rituals and administering religious institutions are rights guaranteed both religiously and legally to preserve freedom of belief and the particularities of the Jaafari school of thought.
They described the licensing requirements for preaching and guidance, the restriction of religious freedoms, and interference in institutional affairs as "an illegal intervention, a direct violation of the freedom to perform religious rituals, and a dangerous assault on the independence of Husseini gatherings."
Preaching as Religious Duty, Not Administrative Job
Residents noted that preaching, guidance, teaching religious rulings and Islamic knowledge, and enjoining good and forbidding wrong are "rooted in Islamic law and the rights of the community" and should not be subjected to restrictions that undermine freedom of religion, belief, and ritual practice.
They stressed that "Husseini oratory and religious preaching are not administrative jobs requiring a license, but rather a faith mission and a religious obligation. Any interference in its independence is interference in the essence of belief and ritual."
Calls for Unified Opposition
The statements called on citizens, heads of Hussainiyas, mosques, committees, scholars, seminary students, and religious reciters to unify their position and reject these measures through peaceful and responsible means.
They urged demanding the cancellation of the measures, refusing to show leniency toward those who facilitate such regulations, and rejecting any action that harms belief or restricts religious rituals.
Bahrain's Shia majority has long complained of systemic discrimination in religious, political, and economic life. The latest licensing requirements for preachers and religious speakers have intensified concerns over what critics describe as an escalating campaign to control and constrain Shia religious institutions in the kingdom.
Authorities have not yet issued a public response to the residents' statements.
Your Comment