Manama: Bahrain on Sunday dissolved the Quran Care Society, saying that it had committed several legal offenses.
Jameel Humaidan, the Minister of Labour and Social Development, said that the decision to dissolve the society was based on Article 50 of the 1989 law of social and cultural societies and clubs.
Under the minister’s decision, the society will be liquidated within four months.
The society identifies itself as working on printing and distributing copies of the Quran freely in countries where they are not easily available.
The society, established in 2006, said on its website that it had used funds and donations from supporters and sponsors to accomplish several achievements related to the printing and distribution of the Quran in African and Asian countries.
Bahraini authorities have launched a wide-ranging campaign against societies it has accused of breaking the law.
On Tuesday, a court suspended Al Wefaq, Bahrain’s main opposition group, closed down its offices, suspended its activities and froze its assets, saying that the association sought to use religion and politics as a mere cover to promote terrorism and violence.
Investigations were also launched into the involvement of Al Resala and Islamic Enlightenment societies and Al Yaqeen Bookshop in illegal fundraising and money laundering.
Prime Minister Prince Khalifa Bin Salman All Khalifa said the measures taken by the government against the societies accused of breaking the law aimed “to ensure that political activism remains free of all forms of abuses that harm the democratic openness of Bahrain.”
They also seek to secure that the democracy process does not break the law or depend on foreign political or religious references and is not tainted with sectarianism, Prince Khalifa said.
He warned that “the measures taken by the government against those in breach of the laws and regulations were part of a bundle of initiatives that ensure the security and stability of Bahrainis and address all possible loopholes that could be exploited to allow foreign interference in the nation’s domestic affairs.”
