Deputy Head of the High Islamic Shiite Council Abdel-Amir Qabalan Saturday described the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia as a "major mistake that could have been avoided." "A royal pardon would have eased the sectarian and religious tension storming the Arab region," Qabalan said in a statement issued after Riyadh announced the execution of 47 prisoners convicted of "terrorism" charges, including Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who was a central figure in 2011 pro-democracy protests in the kingdom. The cleric's name was on a list of the 47 carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency that cited the Interior Ministry for the information. Saudi state television also reported the executions. "The execution of Sheikh Nimr is an execution of reason, moderation, dialogue and the opinion of others," Qabalan said, calling it a "reckless act" and a "dangerous precedent for [further] extermination of Islamic unity and its pioneers." He lamented the "unjust sentence" that turned Sheikh Nimr "into a witness of discrimination and a martyr in confronting it." "It's a crime against humanity that will see repercussions in the coming days," Qabalan concluded. Lebanon's Grand Jaafarite Shiite Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Qabalan echoed the statement issued by the deputy head of the High Islamic Shiite Council. "Killing him (Sheikh Nimr) represents the killing of all mankind," he said, warning of the impact of the execution on the region. "It's a call for a rift and the ignition of division." Nimr had been a vocal critic of Bahrain's Sunni-led monarchy, which harshly suppressed the 2011 Shiite-led pro-democracy protests. Saudi Arabia sent troops to help Bahrain quash the uprising, fearing it would spread. Before his arrest in 2012, Nimr had said the people do not want rulers who kill and carry out injustices against protesters.
