Mosque closed amidst jittery over terror attack

Following the suspicion of a possible terrorist attack, a mosque in the Capital Governorate was temporarily closed by the authorities yesterday.

The decision was taken after the person in charge of the Sayed Hashim Al Tublani Mosque in Tubli reported about a man, who was seen inspecting the mosque under suspicious circumstances at dawn.

Jaffaria Waqf Directorate (JWD) of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Ministry said in a statement that it was informed that the man was seen inside the mosque during the early hours of Friday, moments before the early morning prayers (Fajr).

“He was inspecting the different parts of the mosque and writing notes,” JWD said, quoting the man, who reported the incident.

According to the man in charge of the mosque, the stranger had a non-Bahraini accent and behaved bizarrely. “The stranger didn’t reply to me when I offered to shake his hand. Instead, he quickly left the place and drove away,” he said.

He added that the man was driving a white Toyota Camry. The whole incident was captured by the surveillance cameras installed at the mosque.

Interior Ministry said on its official Twitter page that it had been notified about the incident. Quoting Capital Police Directorate, the Ministry tweeted, “Security and legal steps taken in a case reported by mosque watchman in Tubli, stating the entry of suspicious man inside the mosque.”

The JWD elaborated in its statement: “The watchman provided the security authorities with the video and other information.”

“The suspect used fake registration plates, as the number provided by the witness didn’t match the car model in the records of the General Directorate of Traffic. This prompted the JWD to immediately close the mosque by midday,” the statement added.

However, the mosque was reopened by 6.30pm yesterday amid high security.

As reported a few months ago, members of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organisation threatened
to carry out attacks against
worship places in Bahrain,
similar to the attacks on mosques in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia and in Kuwait. Since then, security has been beefed up to the mosques and worship places in the Kingdom, especially during religious events and Friday prayers.