Al-Wefaq said on its Twitter account that “the house was violated”, indicating that “dozens of troops are storming the house of Ayatollah Qassem, breaking doors, frightening women and vandalizing properties”.
 

Witnesses were quoted as saying that dozens of troops surrounded the house, broke the main gate, and then broke into the house to search it.
 

The attack angered the Bahrainis, and Al-Wefaq said this was “a heinous crime”, adding that the “Bahraini regime shoulders full responsibility for storming the house of Ayatollah Qassem”.
 

For their part, Bahrain’s leading scholars condemned the “disgraceful act”, pointing out that this step “carries serious indicators, and shows irritability and rashness”.
 

“The Bahraini people will not remain silent on this aggression on the most significant religious symbol, and the authority holds full responsibility for that,” they said in a statement, calling on people to “express opposition to this act peacefully”.
 

In another statement, the religious schools (Hawza) in Bahrain said they were shocked by hearing “about the blatant violation by the security apparatuses on the house of Ayatollah Sheikh Issa Qassem…”
 

The statement condemned “the barbaric attack on the house of this great leader and symbol,” and considered that it “violated the security of the nation, and took it to the verge of abyss.”
It further held the regime “fully responsible for the consequences of this stupid act.”