The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) expresses its deep concern over the continued exposure of religious freedoms in Bahrain to official restrictions, especially with regard to the commemoration of the Ashura season amid the Corona pandemic. Despite the authority’s permission to commemorate the season while taking strict precautions, the Ministry of Interior has carried out some transgressions that are considered an outright violation of the right to freedom of religion.
On 14 August 2020, the Jaafari Endowments Administration announced that the authority prohibited the opening of religious institutions to the public and collective assembly, limiting Ashura ceremonies to direct remote broadcasting. As well, authorities limited the duration of the live broadcast to 20 minutes. However, that duration was modified after collective objections. Additionally, authorities also prohibited funeral processions that Shiite citizens used to set up in the month of Muharram every year.
BCHR documented several violations committed by the Bahraini authorities against the religious rites of the Shiite community, such as the removal of banners and posters related to the occasion of Ashura in at least three areas (Al-Sahla, Ras Rumman, and Al-Maameer). The Ministry of Interior also summoned the officials of at least 8 religious institutions (Ma’atem). The center documented as well the summoning of a number of citizens after they hung banners and signs related to the occasion on their homes and they were forced to sign pledges not to place banners again.
Moreover, the security authorities prevented the religious institutions in Hamad Town- an area inhabited by citizens of the Shiite and Sunni communities together- from commemorating the Ashura ceremony. The center also monitored the closure of 4 religious institutions, namely the Zahraa Mosque in Hamad Town and the Imam al-Hassan Mosque located in Sadad, and a couple of Maatams.
On 27 August, the security authorities arrested Dr. Wissam Khalil Al-Areed, after he was accused of insulting religious figures, after reading a sermon that the authority had misinterpreted. On the other hand, the Ministry of Interior turned a blind eye to what a journalist wrote in a newspaper, comparing mourners to animals and claiming their disregard for precautionary measures. Police authorities from the Ministry of Interior prevented funeral processions in at least two areas, despite the Ministry of Interior’s decision to limit processions to the people of the same area.
The Shiite Muslims in Bahrain commemorate the Ashura season in the month of Muharram every year mourning the martyrdom of the Prophet Mohammad’s grandson, Imam Hussein Ibn Ali. Since 2011, the Shiite citizens of Bahrain have been subjected to official restrictions on the commemoration of the Ashura season, including the arrest of preachers and clerics, their prosecution, and investigation of their participation in sermons. Not to mention the removal of the banners and signs related to the event, which are usually spread along the roads in the villages that mark the occasion. Last year, the Ministry of Interior summoned 23 clerics and 5 preachers, in addition to 6 Maatam officials and 3 social activists. The Center also monitored 17 attacks on the manifestations of Ashura rituals in various regions of Bahrain.
BCHR believes that some of the measures practiced by the security authorities in addition to what have been monitored in terms of attacks represent unjustified arbitrariness and tangible restrictions on religious freedoms. Those measures are considered a flagrant violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international covenants, especially Article 18 of the International Covenant Civil and Political Rights, which states that “No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice”. That this is also contrary to what was stated in the UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief issued in 1981.
Therefore, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) calls on the Bahraini government to:
- Stop all practices violating the freedom of religion;
- Work to strengthen the concept of religious freedoms and legally protect them;
- Hold accountable promoters of hate speech and articles.