Bahrain’s Crown Prince: I am a Philosopher, Believe Me!

Bahrain now has a new philosopher. The weak Crown Prince, Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who the West, namely the US, counted on at some point as he was presented as a future hope that will awaken the stalled political situation in his country, decided to abandon all this and study theories and philosophy.

His counselors have taught him that the origin of all the problems in the Middle East is "theocracy" and explained to him its meaning and usages as if it were a supernatural concept with a magical effect and a perception that hasn't been comprehended yet in the world of matter and nature. Since then, the Crown Prince has become a preacher who utters this word day in and day out: "Theocracy...theocracy", as if there is a metaphysical power that made him echo this word over and over again.

He was invited to come to the Camp David retreat, located in the wooded hills of the Catoctin Mountain park in United States, to discuss with other Gulf officials the concerns of his country over the most important concerning issues facing the Middle East and how to resolve them, such as the Iranian nuclear deal, terrorism, the missile defense system and border security enhancement.

However, instead of expressing these fears extensively, asking the only great powers in the world to figure out solutions for them, he once again reiterated his previous comical discourse about theocracy. He issued a statement on Thursday (May 13, 2015) from where he was staying, along with the country's delegation that he is heading during the Camp David summit, urging that the "region be protected from the theocratic ideology". He also highlighted in his speech "the importance of protecting the region form all forms of theocratic fascist ideology", according to Bahrain News Agency (BNA).

Theocracy is a form of government in which clergy or religious group have sovereignty over a territory. Although the roots of this term date back to the 1st century A.D when Flavius Josephus coined it to describe the characteristic government of the Jews, it seems that the Bahraini Crown Prince has gotten familiar with it since only last year. When he delivered a speech during the Manama Dialogue Forum (December 5, 2014), he said: "I call you to replace the ‘war on terrorism' expression with the ‘war on theocracy'". During the 10th annual Manama Dialogue, which he sponsors and which brings together senior Western and Arab officials and decision makers in the region, he further stated that "using the term ‘theocracy' as a substitute is important and more accurate."

Since then, the term overwhelmed his heart and mind, while local media outlets focused on his speech about theocracy, as if it was the century's discovery that all humanity was striving for. The editor-in-chief of the pro-regime "Al-Watan" newspaper, Yusuf Al-Binkhalil, published a number of consecutive articles composed of five episodes, entitled, "Salman Bin Hamad and a World without Theocracy".

However, the euphoric feeling caused by this great discovery did not satisfy the happy Crown Prince who has rediscovered himself and found that he yearns to be a philosopher who can juggle difficult terms rather than a lost politician in his family. Thus, he decided this time to address the West using their language and their media outlets.

He published an article in the Britain's "The Daily Telegraph" (February 16, 2015) to tell the Westerners more about the features of this discovery: "This is not simply a war against terrorism. We are in a fight to the death with theocrats" as the article's title states. He revealed to them the keyword behind their failed efforts in the fight against terrorism since over a decade. What is it? Once more, it is nothing but "theocracy" that he repeated around 5 times.

"Almost 15 years since the current "War on Terror" began, we seem little closer to understanding and defeating a common enemy," he states in his article. How can we understand this enemy? Let's see what the philosopher answers, he says: "If we start to define ourselves as in a war with theocrats, however, then I believe we can counter this threat together". Oh lord! The Bahraini Crown Prince has finally something to do. The lost man seeking to find a role to play is fed up with politics and has now mastered the game of philosophy. He is engrossed in meditation. He has finally found the word ‘theocracy', so please don't deprive him of his new game.




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