Bahrain Mirror: Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim said in a statement on Thursday (May 20, 2021) "Making Bahrain a quarantine for transients to other Gulf States and who are suspected of contacting the Coronavirus is a dangerous step which the government can't deny."

He added that making Bahrain a place of quarantine means that the lives of our people have been turned, per the official decree, into a product that yields money in order to fill a gap, albeit small, in the state budget, part of which is used to harm the people. This step has made our people a mockery in the eyes of the region's ruling systems and their people.

Below is Sheikh Isa Qassim's full statement:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Making Bahrain a quarantine for transients to other Gulf States and who are suspected of contacting the Coronavirus is a dangerous step which the government can't deny.

Most of the said travelers are from India, one of the countries where the pandemic is most widespread, and whose mutated virus is the fastest, most severe strain of Coronavirus, which makes the situation even more dangerous.

Quarantine is taking place in hotels inhabited by tourists, and in houses where the quarantined may not fully abide by isolation rules.

Making Bahrain a place of quarantine means that the lives of our people have been turned, per the official decree, into a product that yields money in order to fill a gap, albeit small, in the state budget, part of which is used to harm the people. This step has made our people a mockery in the eyes of the region's ruling systems and their people.

Is there a specific political reason for this move, linked to the circumstances surrounding the sit-ins and protests held over the conditions of prisoners, the popular demands and the issue of the Israeli war on Al-Aqsa, Al-Quds and Palestine?

Everything is expected.

The decision to make Bahrain a quarantine is a sacrifice of innocent lives. If there were freedom and rule of justice, this decision would have been subject to trial, conviction and legal punishment.

As for home gatherings in these circumstances, we say, don't kill your beloved ones and relatives because of these gatherings.

The following should not be neglected in fighting the pandemic: all the medically prepared and reliable tools, prevention of all kinds, prayer from the bottom of the heart and charity.

May God put an end to the pandemic and keep Bahrain and all Muslim countries safe!

Isa Ahmed Qassim

May 20, 2021

Arabic Version