Demonstrators who gathered after the Friday prayers in the northwestern village of al-Diraz carried pictures of Sheikh Qassim and Bahraini flags and called on the Bahraini regime’s ruler, Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, to step down.

They condemned an earlier attack on Sheikh Issa Qassem's house by al-Khalifa regime troops and criticized Bahraini regime’s disrespect for religious figures.

On May 17, Bahrain’s Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society said on its Twitter account that regime’s troops stormed the house of Sheikh Qassem in Daraz.

Witnesses said dozens of troops surrounded the area and stormed the house by breaking the main gate.

The attack sparked widespread protest throughout the Bahraini capital with thousands of demonstrator pouring into streets and calling for his immediate freedom.

Bahrain has been experiencing a pro-democracy uprising which began in mid-February 2011, when people, inspired by the popular revolutions that toppled the dictators of Tunisia and Egypt, started holding massive anti-regime demonstrations.

Bahraini government promptly launched a brutal crackdown on the peaceful protests and called in Saudi-led Arab troops from neighboring states to crackdown on peaceful gatherings.

Dozens of people have been killed in the crackdown, and the security forces have arrested hundreds, including doctors and nurses accused of treating injured revolutionaries.

A report published by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry in November 2011 found that the al-Khalifa regime had used excessive force in the crackdown and accused Manama of torturing political activists, politicians, and protesters.

Bahrainis say they will continue holding demonstrations until their demand for the establishment of a democratically elected government is met.