khaleej Times: Bahrain’s society files case against scholars

30 August 2008
MANAMA – A cultural society has filed a legal case against leading Shia scholars here for accusing its members of promoting the thoughts of a banned Islamic group that was formed in the eighties.

Al Safara was declared anti-Islamic movement by leading Shia figures, including Ayatollah Al Khomeini for its religious beliefs.

30 August 2008
MANAMA – A cultural society has filed a legal case against leading Shia scholars here for accusing its members of promoting the thoughts of a banned Islamic group that was formed in the eighties.

Al Safara was declared anti-Islamic movement by leading Shia figures, including Ayatollah Al Khomeini for its religious beliefs.

Al Tajdeed Cultural society decided to file the case after one of its members was physically attacked by participants of a religious seminar at a community centre on Tuesday when he was trying to respond to the accusations of a speaker about the society, President of the Society Radhi Rajab told Khaleej Times on Friday.

“The allegations were not new as many scholars waged a war against us right from the first day of the establishment of the society in 2002, but the recent attack and baseless allegations at seminars affect our reputation,” Rajab said.

“We are a cultural society that focuses on publishing books on cultural and literature and we have no direct or indirect relations with the Al Safara movement.”

He said that all society members were highly educated who were being targeted for their new thoughts that were being seen by many as a threat to the outdated approach of some so-called scholars which force them to loosen their control of ordinary people.