Update: Bahrain revokes citizenship of top Shiite cleric

Bahrain announced on Monday it had revoked the citizenship of the country's most powerful Shiite cleric, saying the move was part of measures to fight extremism.

Sheikh Isa Qassim, the leader of the opposition group Al Wefaq National Islamic Society, was stripped of nationality, the Bahraini Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The statement accused Isa Qassim of forming "groups that follow foreign religious ideologies and political entities" and of playing "a key role in fostering extremism and sectarianism in Bahrain."

The ministry added that the cleric endorsed the theory of theocracy and supported this ideology in his sermons and fatwas (religious edicts).

"He used places of worships as a political arena to serve foreign interests and maintained an environment supportive of violence and extremism," it added.

"Bahrain will continue to fight extremism, including taking actions against those individuals who pledge allegiance to foreign religious or political entities," the statement said.

The decision comes after prosecutors found that foreign groups with "hidden agenda" against Bahrain received funds from the cleric, whose bank account contained 10 million U.S. dollars that was frozen last week.

Chief Prosecutor Mohammed Al Malki said in a statement last week that investigations found that the religious figure sent large amounts of funds to Iran and Iraq in breach of the rules for financial disclosure and remittance.

He further said the cleric set up and managed an unlicensed office for illegal fundraising acting on directives from foreign entities.

The Shiite cleric in January 2012 urged his followers to "crush policemen," after which several policemen were attacked, many of whom were critically injured, in some parts of the country. Endit