Bahrain Sit-in Called In Solidarity With Iraqi Shiites

DUBAI, Aug 26 (AFP) - Three Bahraini Shiite clerics have called for a sit-in in Manama on Thursday to express solidarity with Iraq's Shiite religious authority, or marjaiya, as the top cleric there headed for the troubled holy city of Najaf.
"Sheikhs Issa Qassem, Jawad al-Wedaai and Abdullah al-Ghrifi have called for a sit-in in Ras al-Romman mosque from 4pm to 10pm (1300 to 1900 GMT) in solidarity with Najaf's marjaiya," Sheikh Ali Salman, a spokesman for the organizers, told AFP.
The sit-in might continue if developments in Najaf warrant, he said, adding that Bahrainis were "prepared to go to Najaf if (Grand Ayatollah) Sayyed Ali al-Sistani so wishes".
Sistani, who returned to Iraq on Wednesday from Britain after undergoing medical treatment, headed for Najaf on Thursday hoping to end weeks of fighting in the holy city between Shiite militiamen loyal to radical cleric Moqtada Sadr and US and Iraqi government forces.
In a statement, the three Bahraini clerics accused Iraq's interim government of "spurning all efforts to resolve the Najaf crisis peacefully".
Threats by government officials to storm the revered Imam Ali mausoleum, where Sadr's men have been holed up, show "utter contempt for the Islamic nation", they said.
Shiites make up a majority of the population in Sunni-ruled Bahrain, which is home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.