Bahrain Double Standard: Government Patronizes Foreign Festivals While Restricting Shia Rituals

Bahrain Government’s Double Standard: Patronage of Foreign Cultural Festivals and Restrictions on Shia Religious Rituals

Shiite News: Bahraini news agency ‘Mirat al-Bahrain’ has revealed in its report that the Bahraini government has imposed severe restrictions on the Islamic occasions and gatherings of Shia Muslims ongoing in the country for decades, while on the contrary, foreign events are being openly promoted under the name of ‘cultural exchange’.

In the report, questioning government hypocrisy, reference was made to the Japanese animation film festival held for the third consecutive year at Bahrain’s Al-Dana commercial center. According to the report, on one hand, Japanese festivals are given the name of tolerance and cultural exchange under official patronage, while on the other hand, gatherings linked to Bahrain’s Islamic history and the Husseini flag are presented as a security issue.

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Mirat al-Bahrain has clarified that the real issue is not acquaintance with other cultures but discriminatory treatment. The report strongly demanded that the government should also adopt the same tolerant and religious freedom-based attitude towards Shia religious rituals, gatherings, and reciters that is maintained for other events.