Bahraini scholars have called on Islamic authorities and organizations worldwide to intervene amid the ruling regime’s crackdown on the country’s Shia community.

The scholars issued an urgent appeal regarding the existential threat to Shias and the broader Muslim identity in Bahrain.

They called on the Grand Ayatollahs, seminaries, and Islamic institutions to stand in solidarity with the Bahraini people and scholars in order to protect their religious freedom, faith, and identity.

They also denounced a recent campaign of arrests in Bahrain targeting senior Shia clerics and jurists who have dedicated their lives to teaching Islamic jurisprudence and maintaining social cohesion.

The true intent behind the arrest campaign is to “paralyze Islamic outreach, disrupt the religious infrastructure, and create a spiritual vacuum within society,” the scholars said.

The abductions are not spontaneous actions, but part of a pre-planned project seeking to “marginalize, weaken, and dismantle the scientific and social structures” of the Shia community in the Persian Gulf Arab country, they added.