Manama: Bahrain's Justice and Islamic Affairs minister on Tuesday rejected claims that the authorities were demolishing mosques that dated back to more than 200 years.
"Bahrain has 339 Sunni mosques and 700 Shiite mosques in addition to 600 Shiite community centres," Shaikh Khalid Bin Ali Al Khalifa said. "The government in the last five years spent 13 million Dinars to build houses of worship and we now have more than we need. In some areas, you can find 32 mosques next to one another and 22 community centres. We have this high number because people believed that they could easily break the law and put up constructions," he told reporters in Bahrain.
Several religious leaders have criticised the government for demolishing places of worship under the claim that they were erected illegally.
Activists said that the authorities were targeting Shiite mosques in retaliation for the massive demonstrations they organised during the unrest and some of them calling for the downfall of the political regime.
However, Shaikh Khalid has repeatedly rejected the claims and insisted that the government was not driven by sectarianism in "putting its own house in order."
"By taking action against illegal buildings that have accumulated over the years, the municipality should be praised, not criticised," he said. "We are not targeting mosques, but any building that was put up in violation of the laws and regulations. Claims that some of the buildings were more than 200 years are also untrue because under Bahrain's laws, any real estate that is more than 60 years old is duly recorded in the country's registers. We should not fall for baseless allegations and should learn to co-exist peacefully," he said.
Shaikh Khalid said that he resented the terms Sunni and Shiite mosques.
"As far as I know as a Muslim, mosques are for God, and not for Sunnis or Shiites. We have to put an end to such divisive claims. I personally have prayed in all sorts of mosques. I would like us to rise above ridiculous claims. I heard people say that the authorities have been burning the Holy Quran. We will not dignify such ludicrous allegations with a comment," he said.
