bahrain

3- The Crisis in Bahrain
* Until recently, Bahrain was renowned for its religious freedom and tolerance. Nowhere in
the whole of the Gulf Region had all religious beliefs, creeds and practices coexisted in total
harmony as in Bahrain.
* What made Bahrain an oasis of serenity and religious tolerance was the fact that the state
took it upon itself to act as a custodian of all creeds, not just allowing each and every
individual, whether a citizen, resident or even a visitor, the freedom to worship and practice
according to their faith and religious beliefs, but also offered substantial financial
contributions to all existing religious groups and sects such as Christians, Jews, Shias, Sunnis,
Hindus and Sikhs. This fact was duly recognized by the Bahrain Independent Commission of
Inquiry’s (BICI) report which stated that Bahrain is a model of ethnic and sectarian cohesion
when compared to neighbouring countries.
* Religious or sectarian affiliations had never before been an issue in the Bahraini community,
or an element that restricted any interactions or even intermarriages between followers of
different religious beliefs.
Then, why has the sectarian element suddenly become one of the focal points of the recent
Bahraini crisis?
* The roots of the current Bahraini crisis are political in essence... Bahrain had embarked on a
reform process initiated since 2002, but the slow pace of the implementation of the political
reforms has led to a simmering resentment that burst onto the surface inspired by the popular
uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen, in what has been dubbed (The Arab Spring).
* It is fair to say that the initial Bahraini popular protests were political in nature, demanding
legitimate and reasonable wider political reforms until a minority of fanatics derailed the
course of the protests.
* The turning point could be traced to the call by an extremist faction of the Shia opposition
for the overthrow, not only of the government but also of the Monarchy... That in turn raised
suspicion and concern among the Sunni population who felt that any threat to the Monarchy
would eventually affect them, and would mean the end of the road to what had hitherto been
achieved in the field of political and economic reforms.
* The harsh measures taken by the security forces combined with the hijacking of the peaceful
protests by hardliners led to the violence and confrontation that have sadly resulted in the
perpetration of grave human rights violations.
* Consequently the sectarian card entered the frame as the political leaders on both sides of
the sectarian divide succumbed to the extreme elements that were mobilizing the streets and
sought, therefore, to employ that card in the political point-scoring.
* This precarious situation was not helped by a hasty decision taken by the relevant Bahraini
authorities to demolish what they had identified as unauthorized Shia places of worship,
whereby around 30 of these places, according to the BICI’s report, have been demolished
between March 1 st and May 11th 2011. The BICI’s report criticised the procedure as well as
the timing of that decision.
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