Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): The first ten days of the holy month of Muharram ended, and the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, made his usual statement as every year, congratulating the ministries on the success of the Ashura season.
Two hands on the inside infringe on the rights of citizens, restricting their religious and civil rights, while another hand waves the banner of coexistence on the outside, the same policy which is annually followed every Ashura season.
But this is how we, the people of Bahrain, see it.
The truth is that this season for the authorities is nothing but a season on full, comprehensive security alert, and the youngest of Bahrainis is aware of this.
As for the success of the season, it is only caused by people, their love for Imam Hussein, which drives them to work day and night to make it a successful occasion, which the state cannot accomplish.
A season that extends across Bahrain, in dozens of regions and towns, and hundreds of husseiniyas and obsequies, offering free food and drink and free meals three times a day, while processions are organized during which poems and laments are recited and chanted in remembrance, displaying the spirituality of the season. Religious speeches are also delivered through platforms, all of which focusing on shaping young people with good character and creating a decent society as a whole, a character that believes in its identity and harbors awareness, love, peace and aspiration for justice and comprehensive reform as desired by Imam Hussein, peace be upon him.
Artistic publications dedicated to the occasion, black banners and flags hung everywhere in the streets and on the walls, which can be deemed the largest exhibition of Arabic calligraphy held in the region. Everyone wears the color of mourning, young and old, rich and poor. Communities race to set up food stands (Madeef), where food is distributed out of love and peace.
It is a season organized by the people of Bahrain by virtue of their identity and affiliation, despite the security restrictions, threats and poisonous media attacks they are subjected to every year, especially from the Minister of Interior.
Therefore, the usual annual statement aimed at whitewashing the image, whether issued by the King, the Crown Prince, the Speakers of the House of Representatives and the Shura Council, or even the head of endowments, has no ounce of credibility. This season, like previous Ashura seasons, recorded a series of attacks on the freedom of commemoration of rituals.
A short video was received yesterday from Kuwait, in which one of the female figures from the ruling Al Sabah family there was visiting a husseiniya, attending the event alongside the people, dressed in black, and addressing the audience with kind words. This video clip demonstrates a lesson on the meaning of recognizing the diversity of citizens and respecting their beliefs.
If you want the truth, O King, your basic approach on which your reign is based is "injustice and discrimination against Shiite citizens", and is the biggest obstacle and the deepest crisis from which everything branches. The matter is simple, they should recognize the citizenship and rights of the Shiites in Bahrain and respect them as human beings and as normal citizens with rights and duties. They should refrain from using security methods in dealing with these Bahraini citizens and everything that concerns them, opting for constitutional, civil approaches, so that Bahrain actually becomes an oasis of coexistence.
Therefore, your praise of the season and your talk about sectarian pluralism is completely contrary to the restrictions practiced by the authorities, led by your Minister of Interior Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, and therefore all of this falls under the violations that took place, which began a week before the beginning of the holy month of Muharram.
It is noteworthy that the attacks on the Ashura manifestations this year have affected dozens of areas so far.
Our Ashura and its success are completely different.
Arabic Version
