Show of unity: Joint prayers held in Kuwait and Bahrain

KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait deployed unprecedented security measures around mosques for Friday prayers following last week’s deadly bombing, as the emir attended a rare Shiite-Sunni joint ceremony in a show of unity.
Shiite mosques in Kuwait City were completely cordoned off, and roads leading to them were closed to traffic, as security men and volunteers stood guard, an AFP reporter said.
Thousands of Shiite and Sunni worshippers held a rare joint prayer at the Grand Mosque, Kuwait’s largest place of worship for Sunnis.
Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah attended the noon prayers along with the crown prince, parliament speaker and several Cabinet ministers and lawmakers.
Armored vehicles, elite forces and policemen stood guard outside the mosque.
All roads leading to the mosque were off limits to vehicles and worshippers were thoroughly searched before they were allowed inside.
Also on Friday, dozens of Shiites and Sunnis prayed side by side in a mosque near the capital of Bahrain.
Residents said tight security was in place for the special session of weekly prayers in a mosque at Diraz.
Justice and Islamic Affairs Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ali Al-Khalifa said that the joint prayers were a show of Bahraini “unity in the face of those plotting against the Arab and Islamic world.”
In Kuwait, prayer leader Sheikh Waleed Al-Ali, a Sunni, called for national unity and urged Muslims to abandon extremist ideology.
“Extremism has led to this bloodshed,” he said in his sermon.
Both Sunni and Shiite worshippers stood in rows beside each other, each praying according to their tradition.
“Our message today is that Kuwait is united and nothing will ever succeed to divide us,” Abdullah Nuri, a Shiite engineer, said.
“The highly positive reactions by our Sunni brothers after the blast made us very satisfied,” Nuri said.
Shiite cleric Abdullah Al-Nejada said: “This is a proof that Sunnis and Shiites are the same and that they (terrorists) will not succeed in dividing this country.”
Kuwait, declaring itself in a state of war against “terrorism,” has placed security forces and the police on high alert.
“This is a clear message to terrorists that you will not succeed in your plot. This is the Kuwaiti response to you,” MP Khalil Abul said.