Bahrain’s Judiciary has sentenced three individuals to one year in prison for discussing Islamic theology on online platforms.
The defendants are members of a local cultural society called Tajdeed, which aims to challenge traditional Islamic scholarship and jurisprudence without criticizing the religion itself.
However, prominent Shiite clerics in the kingdom and other critics have accused the group of attacking the foundations of Islam, leading to a campaign of incitement against them.
The public prosecutor’s office claimed that the defendants have offended Islamic prophets, by dismissing their miracles as popular myths, and “infringed on the foundations of the Islamic faith”.
The defendants were not named in the statement, but they have been identified by activists as Jalal al-Qassab, Redha Rajab, and Mohammed Rajab. They have been granted bail and are awaiting their appeal.
