Bahraini authorities have revoked the citizenship of the most prominent Shia cleric in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, accusing him of sowing sectarian divisions, the interior ministry said Monday.

Sheikh Isa Qassim, who is considered the spiritual leader Bahrain's Shia majority, was alleged to have used his position to "serve foreign interests and promote... sectarianism and violence," the ministry said in a statement carried by BNA state news agency.