(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) In November 2012, Al-Wefaq Islamic Society has sent a letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navi Pillay, regarding restrictions on religious freedom on one of the religious sects in Bahrain, stating, “The authorities in Bahrain, during the religious season of (Muharram 1434 AH) are following an approach based on directions from high influential bodies in the State, stirring public anger and undermining the people’s right to practice their religious rituals. Citizens of a certain sect of the population feel that their religious beliefs and rituals are being targeted, without any reason, whether related to maintaining security, the State’s safety or any other claims. This attack is similar to what happened during the National Safety period, in March/May 2011, as had been reported by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) and the UN Human Rights Council delegation during its visit to Bahrain in December 2011.”Included with the letter was a list, prepared by the Liberties and Human Rights Unit in Al-Wefaq Society, that contained 42 documented cases of preachers, religious performers and a group of individuals responsible of “Matams” (Shi’a religious places) who were summoned to police stations for interrogation. The interrogation “focused on the usual phrases that were included in their religious speeches, and which are related to ideological, religious and historical beliefs. The authorities considered repeating these sayings, in the Shi’a culture, as an incitement toward hatred of the regime!” In addition to this, there are 9 other cases of attack on the rituals of the Ashura religious commemoration.
But what has changed? The authorities insist on violating the religious freedoms of Shi’a Muslims. It reiterates its attacks in various forms and on different occasions. What was documented by the BICI regarding the demolition of mosques in November 2011 was not the latest of the authorities’ violations. In November 2012, Shi’a Muslims were prevented from praying behind Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim because the Authority is dissatisfied with his stance and speech. Security checkpoints were set on all main and branch roads leading to the mosque where the central prayer was held behind ayatollah Qassim. The forces that deployed around the area shot tear gas at anyone who attempted to reach the prayer. This practice caused the death of the child Ali Abbas Radhi. In another major violation of religious freedom, in July 2013, the authorities intended to build a playground in place of a demolished mosque that goes back to 70 years.Ashura Religious CommemorationUp until the present time, the doctrine of targeting and restricting religious freedom by the authorities has not changed. The Liberties and Human Rights Unit in Al-Wefaq Society has documented 57 cases of attacks on religious rituals in Ashura this year. Between 31st October 2013 and 21st November 2013, 24 cases of removal and vandalism of black banners and flags of Ashura have been documented. In the same period, 28 citizens were summoned, 2 religious processions attacked and one religious performer in a procession was arrested. Details are as follows:Removing and vandalising Ashura black banners and flagsBlack banners and flags are a main manifestation of Ashura, an annual religious commemoration of the martyrdom of Imam Hussain- the grandson of Prophet Muhammed. In this religious season banners and flags with religious slogans or sayings by the Prophet Mohammed and his family (Shia Imams) are hanged. It is also shown by exhibiting symbolic art models expressing mourning and sadness over the martyrdom of Imam Hussain. For hundreds of years, Ashura has been celebrated with such manifestations on the sides of public roads and the walls of Shia worship places and houses. This occasion holds special sacredness for Shiites, and vandalizing or confiscating such manifestations is considered an attack on the sacredness of Shi’a beliefs.
This banner removed by security forces reads a saying of Imam Hussain: “Every worshipper of God, whose tears cry for us, has gained his place in heaven”According to the Unit’s documentation, there have been 24 cases of vandalism and confiscation of black banners and flags. In all the documented cases, the banners read Quran verses and purely religious sayings and slogans, while some were only blank banners. These banners were installed in their usual locations that citizens have used in previous years.If the black banners and flags on public roads could provide them with the opportunity to give flimsy justifications, what could be the justification for confiscating them from the walls of citizens’ houses? Among the testimonies documented by the Unit, in an area in the Capital Manama, one of the witnesses said, “We were surprised by the number of police vehicles surrounding two houses in the area. They asked the residents to take down the black flags. One of the houses overlooked the main road while the other one was in the center of the area. The police justified this by saying that one of the flags was too big and could be seen clearly from the main road. It is worth noting the manifestations taken down were flags and banners, some were blank and others had “Ya Husain” inscribed on them. Removal of the monument; “Hussain, the survival ship”The destruction of the art representation entitled, “Hussain, the survival ship” in Jufair village is the highlight of all the cases. Security forces accompanied by a bulldozer destroyed the monument, in the same way the BICI report, headed by Mr. Bassioni, stated Shi’a mosques were destroyed, which could provoke the sect and its beliefs (see paragraphs 1320, 1331, 1332, 1334 from the BICI report). The monument was demolished at 5 am and completely destroyed. It is worth noting that the monument included some Quran verses and religious sayings. Also, the party that installed this monument had created artwork there for the last 8 consecutive years at the same location.
The Governor of the Capital stated to the press that, “The reason for the removal of the ship monument was because it was a legal violation and those responsible did not follow the legal procedures.” It appears that the Governor has missed or disregarded that the monument was built on private property that should not in any way be attacked. Moreover, the method of removal shows the repressive doctrine of the police-state and an absence of respect for human rights, as the removal was carried out without notice. This degrading method of removal could have been avoided by communicating with the members of the municipality in the area.In addition to all this, the body responsible for these violations – assuming it took place – is the concerned municipality, because violations of constructions and buildings go under their municipal responsibilities and not the Ministry of Interior. The Governor claimed that he had not received notice of authorization for the model, although such issues are not included in his duties according to the Bahraini law.Reoccurring attacks on Ashura manifestations:In some cases, the vandalism and confiscation of black banners was repeatedly carried out by the security forces, aiming to stir up public anger. For example, the vandalism and confiscation in Sanad village happened 4 times successively without justification. According to eyewitnesses, security forces informed the residents while they were installing some of the models that they had to remove some of them, because they violated the law. The residents removed those banners but were later surprised to see the remaining models buried in sand “.Suppression of mourning processionsThe Liberties and Human Rights Unit documented 2 separate incidents of suppression of religious processions in the villages of Ma’ameer and Nuwaidrat. In Nuwaidrat, a procession was targeted with excessive use of teargas which caused suffocations and injuries among. The Ministry of Interior promptly commented on news published in a local newspaper regarding the incident saying: “an unauthorized demonstration has taken place in Nuwaidrat. This was not a religious procession as the timings of processions are different to that of the unauthorized demonstration”. We wonder if the Ministry knew that this religious procession has taken place at the same timing as it always had since 2011. Also, the difference in the timing, as the Ministry claims, does not mean it is not of religious nature.If the Ministry of Interior commented on published news and tried to find some justifications, it didn’t issue a statement over the suppression of another religious procession that wasn’t given attention by the local newspapers, as in the case of the procession in Ma’ameer. This procession was on the internal roads of the village and not one person chanted political or anti-regime slogans, so what was the legal justification to suppress it?
Summoning citizens participating in the Ashura Commemoration to police stationsThe Unit documented 26 cases where citizens had been summoned to police stations for working or participating in the Ashura Commemoration. Fifteen of the cases were of those responsible for the Matams, while 3 summons were of sent to preachers and 4 sent to religious performers. This included 1 arrest, in addition to another 4 cases of ordinary citizens and one individual responsible for managing the religious procession.These summonses were issued only to place restrictions on these rituals. Those who were summoned stated that the interrogation focused on the request not to mention political topics or chant political slogans, and that they were interrogated on the content of their speech and requested to remove the black manifestations. Abdul Amir Al Beladi, a religious performer was summoned for mentioning the name of an arbitrarily imprisoned religious performer who was detained for chanting political slogans in one of the demonstrations.Regarding the case of arrest, the religious performer Sayed Murtadha Hasan was arrested for participating in a central procession. According to the Ministry of Interior, violations were committed on the sidelines of the procession. The Ministry has justifications for summoning the organizers of the religious procession, but how can it justify arresting another individual who had nothing to do with the procession?ConclusionIt seems that the Bahraini authorities need to be reminded of the right of religious freedom and ideology for every human being from birth and that these rights cannot be violated according to Article 18 of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights that states, ” Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”We would like to point out that the Kingdom of Bahrain stated in Article 22 of the Constitution that Freedom of conscience is absolute. The State guarantees the inviolability of worship, and the freedom to perform religious rituals and hold religious parades and meetings in accordance with the customs observed in the country”. This article considers religious processions and rituals as traditions that have been ensured by the State, which includes absolute freedom that citizens do not need authorization for, as they have been the customs in the country for a long time, and do not need permission, license, notice or approval from any party. It is an absolute freedom and has always been a tradition. All the attacks on religious rituals, ideologies, and processions is part of the customs of the State and especially in the areas that have been used to holding them annually in the Ashura religious commemoration and it cannot be a reason for provoking any other party that is not Shi’a in the State. These rituals were to be held in the villages and towns where there are residences of the two communities like in Manama and Muharraq and extended to the new Hamad Town area. Neither citizens nor residents in Bahrain have concluded that these rituals are directed for hatred or limiting freedom of individuals, and many Sunnis had and do participate in these rituals. The Government’s practice in this regard is inflaming tension as Mr. Bassiouni stated in his report paragraph 1334 and is derived from what was decided by the Human Rights council delegation in December 2011 regarding the government following sectarian tension.Thus, we recommend the following:
- The Bahraini government to follow the example of the Kuwaiti government that denounced the insolence over Shi’a religious rituals, to hold those responsible seriously accountable over the violations, and to prevent their repetition in the future.
- The international community and human rights organizations to announce clear positions condemning the violations that lead to sectarian tension, belittling an entire sect in the Bahraini community and undermining the right and confirming what was described by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as “political persecution”.