Three clerics banned in Bahrain for spreading hate

Three clerics in Bahrain have been forbidden from preaching in mosques following allegations that they incited sectarian hate.

Sunni cleric and Bahrain Quran Society chairman Adel Hassan Al Hamad was summoned to the interior ministry Thursday where he was told "he could no longer conduct Friday sermons", Gulf Daily News reported.

Shi'ite clerics Shaikh Mohammed Mansi and Shaikh Kamel Al Hashemi were also given similar orders, which were issued by the Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments ministry.

"I was summoned by the Interior Ministry and I was informed that I have been banned from preaching following orders from the Justice Minister," Al Hamad tweeted.

"He received a letter from the Justice Ministry saying that he had to report to the police station and when he got there he was told that he was not permitted to give any more sermons," a friend of Al Hammad said. "There was no need to call him to the police station like a criminal, he would have agreed either way."

Shaikh Mansi and Shaikh Al Hashemi had to sign similar documents when they were summoned to the police station, he added.

Al Hamad's 19-year-old son Abdulrahman was killed last May while fighting alongside Syrian rebels against President Bashar Al Assad's forces.