BAHRAIN
Legal framework on freedom of religion and actual application
Bahrain is a Shia-majority kingdom located in the Persian Gulf ruled by the Sunni Al Khalifa dynasty. Article 2 of the 2002 constitution states: “The religion of the State is Islam. The Islamic Shari‘a is a principal source for legislation.”[1] Article 6 states: “The State safeguards the Arab and Islamic heritage.” The constitution guarantees, in Article 23, the right to express and publish opinions, provided these do not infringe on the “fundamental beliefs of Islamic doctrine”. According to Article 18, “There shall be no discrimination among [citizens] on the basis of sex, origin, language, religion or creed.” Article 22 guarantees that “freedom of conscience is absolute. The State guarantees the inviolability of worship, and the freedom to perform religious rites and hold religious parades and meetings in accordance with the customs observed in the country.”
Conversion from Islam to another religion is not explicitly forbidden by law, but the social and legal consequences of doing so are considerable. Converts from Islam lose inheritance rights and are cast out of their family. For anyone who was born Muslim, including converts to Christianity, Islamic marriage rites are imposed, children are registered as Muslims, and Islamic burial rites are applied.[2]
Showing disrespect to recognised religions is punished under the Bahrain Penal Code.[3] Article 309 imposes fines and prison “upon any person who commits an offence by any method of expression against one of the recognised religions [or] sects or ridicules the rituals thereof”. Article 310, among other things, reserves the same treatment for “any person who commits in public an insult against a symbol or a person being glorified or considered sacred to members of a particular sect”. Article 311 also imposes a fine or prison on “any person who deliberately causes disturbance to the holding of religious rituals by a recognised sect or to a religion’s ceremony or […] destroys, damages or desecrates a place of worship or a recognised sect or a symbol or other things having a religious inviolability”.
Although Bahrain is the only Gulf country where Ashura (the tenth day of the month of Muharram) is a government holiday, it was not until 2019 that Shi‘as were allowed to publicly commemorate it. The authorities still try to prevent Ashura mourning rituals from taking place, although they no longer use riot police and tear gas.[4]
To operate in the country, non-Muslim religious groups are required to register with the Ministry of Labour and Social Development (MOLSD). Altogether, around 20 non-Muslim religious groups are registered, including Christian Churches and a Hindu temple.[5]
Most Bahraini Christians are descendants of immigrants who came during the nineteenth century or who arrived as diplomatic staff and foreign workers between 1930’s and 1960’s[6] and who were eventually granted Bahraini citizenship; the majority were originally Arab Christians from the Middle East, although a few are from India.[7] Today the majority of Christians in Bahrain (who account for some 15 percent of the population) come from abroad. These derive mostly from Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine and Jordan, but also from Sri Lanka, India, the Philippines, and Western countries.[8] As of 2023, 16 churches were registered.[9]
Catholics in Bahrain are subject to the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia (formerly part of the Vicariate of Arabia from 1889 to 1953, later Apostolic Prefecture and then Vicariate of Kuwait), established in 2011.[10]
There is a small Jewish community of about 50[11] persons, mostly descendants of families who came from Iraq, Iran and India and settled in the island kingdom in the early 1900s.[12] They have their own synagogue and cemetery[13] and enjoy a certain social, political, and financial status. The Jewish community has a representative in the 40-member Shura or Consultative Council, the appointed upper chamber of Bahrain’s bicameral National Assembly. The community has recently expanded following the Abraham Accords that were signed by Bahrain in 2020, thus starting bilateral relations with Israel.[14]
Incidents and developments
Islam
During the period under review, the relations between the Shia community and Bahraini authorities continued degrade with Shia facing restrictions and repression.
In February 2023, senior Bahraini Shia cleric, Sheikh Isa Qassim criticised some Arab states over a normalisation of diplomatic ties with Israel, saying that the process poses serious threats to the security, resources and sanctities of the Muslim world. According to press reports, the Sheikh accused the government of attempting to “Judaise” Bahrain.[15] Earlier Shiite Sheikh Muhammad Sanqour, the Friday preacher at the Imam al-Sadiq Mosque in Diraz, Bahrain, called on the government to ban all sales of real estate to Jews.[16]
In March 2023, the administration of Bahrain’s Jau Prison, which holds mainly Shia dissidents, deprived the Shia clerics Mohammad Habib Al-Muqdad and Mirza Al-Mahrous of their right to medical treatment despite their deteriorating health.[17] Also the imprisoned activist and Shia Muslim Abdulhadi al-Khawaja was reportedly denied proper medical assistance after suffering from cardiac arrhythmia. Al-Khawaja is sentenced to life in prison.[18] In August 2023, al-Khawaja participated in a hunger strike in Jau prison to protest the living conditions in which more than 800 prisoners participated. One of the demands was also the right to pray in congregation at the prison mosque.[19] In September 2023, the strike was suspended following a meeting with the authorities.[20]
In March 2023, a court sentenced three members of the Shia Al Tajdeed society to a year in prison and a fine for blasphemy accused of mocking Islamic beliefs. The group advocates open discussion about Islamic beliefs and legal practice. In the previous month, the Public Prosecution filed criminal charges against Tajdeed members, alleging that YouTube commentaries by one of the defendants on various Qur‘an verses contradicted “authoritative rulings on the power of Allah” and “insulted a symbol and revered figure in a specific religious community”.[21] In December 2023, the King pardoned the three men.[22]
In April 2023, the authorities sentenced Shia eulogy reciter Abdulamir Al-Biladi to 22 days in prison pending investigation over taking part in a funeral procession in Manama. He had read a poem expressing solidarity with Palestine.[23] The Bahrain Forum for Human Rights (BFHR) stated that suspending Al-Biladi represents a typical violation of religious freedom. Al-Biladi was detained at Bahrain International Airport upon his arrival from the Sultanate of Oman.[24]
In May 2023, prominent Bahraini Shia scholar Muhammad Sanqour was released by authorities days after being arrested after calling for the release of political prisoners.[25]
In July 2023, Bahraini authorities reportedly continued their attacks on Ashura mourning rituals imposing restrictions on participating citizens in several Bahraini areas. Armed forces dressed in civilian clothes removed mourning flags and black banners in several cities and villages. According to reports, the authorities released the arrested youths from A‘ali only after responding to the Interior Ministry orders that they hand over the mourning flags and black banners for Ashura, as well as the equipment used to install them.[26]
In August 2023, Sheikh Mahmoud Al-A‘ali was released after being summoned for interrogation over a speech he delivered in the presence of thousands of participants who chanted slogans against Israel, and in support of Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim, Bahrain’s leading Shia cleric, along with slogans related to the Ashura festival.[27]
In September 2023, a popular Bahraini social media influencer with over a million followers was arrested, accused of blasphemy for allegedly posting a video on her social media account that “constitutes a transgression” disrespecting a person who is “revered by members of a specific faith,” the Public Prosecution said in a statement.[28]
In a non-Shia related incident, in October 2023, Indian doctor Sunil Rao was fired from his hospital and arrested after being charged with posting an anti-Hamas comment on social media.[29]
In April 2024, Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, announced the resumption of flights between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Republic of Iraq. In 2023, Shia members of Parliament had already asked to resume flights to the Shia sanctuary of Najaf in Iraq. Flights from Bahrain to Iraq were suspended amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.[30]
In June 2024, Shia Sheikh Fadel Al-Zaki was released by the authorities. He had been summoned for questioning regarding his posts about the so-called “security permit” — a government requirement obliging Bahraini citizens to obtain official approval before visiting Shia holy sites abroad, particularly in Iraq and Iran.[31] Previously, in December 2023, Al-Zaki had demanded to expel the Israeli ambassador from Bahrain. Shia and Sunni activists in Bahrain launched a petition demanding the cancellation of the official normalisation contracts between the two countries.[32]
Christianity
During the period under review, there has been a significant improvement in relations and collaboration with the Vatican and the Catholic Church in general. This development is linked to Pope Francis’ historic visit to Bahrain in November 2022, marking the first time a Pontiff visited the country. The visit, which took place at the invitation of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, lasted three days.[33]
In March 2023, Bahrain’s National Theatre screened the premiere of the documentary “Leap of Faith” depicting the historic visit by Pope Francis.[34]
In May 2023, The King Hamad Global Center for Peaceful Coexistence prepared a document on Islamic-Christian religious dialogue, on the sidelines of the first meeting of the Permanent Committee of the Muslim-Christian Dialogue between the Muslim Council of Elders and the Vatican’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.[35]
In September 2023, the Bahraini cabinet approved a new law regulating the construction of places of worship such as mosques, churches, synagogues, temples, and maatams (Shia religious centres). It limits the height of religious buildings and allows the erection of adjacent conference halls only after approval by the government.[36]
In October 2023, the King visited Pope Francis in the Vatican recalling the Pontiff’s visit to Bahrain one year before.[37]
In December 2023, the Catholic Sacred Heart School in Manama celebrated its 75th anniversary in the presence of the Minister of Education, Mohammad Bin Mubarak Jumae, and the Apostolic Nuncio to Bahrain, Archbishop Eugene Martin Nugent. The school is attended by 1,400 pupils aged four to 16.[38]
In January 2024, the King of Bahrain, received Bishop Aldo Berardi, Apostolic Vicar of Northern Arabia. According to Bishop Berardi, the visit underscored again the King’s openness to tolerance and the coexistence of different religious realities.[39]
In October 2024, over ten years after the land had been donated, permission was finally granted to start the construction of a Christian cemetery. The cemetery, which includes a modern crematorium, was requested to meet the growing needs of all Christian communities. This will be the third Christian cemetery in Bahrain, following the Old Christian Cemetery in Manama, al-ʿĀṣimah, and the New Christian Cemetery in Salmabad, al-Wusṭā.[40]
In the same month, the King donated a plot of land for the construction of a Greek Orthodox Church in the Seef area.[41] It is necessary to obtain a permit for the construction of Church buildings, and some Christian communities have been waiting for permits for over 10 years.[42]
Prospects for freedom of religion
The concept of full religious liberty is alien to Bahrain’s constitution and laws, as well as to practice. Non-Muslims enjoy freedom of worship only, though the State exercises a certain benevolence to the established Catholic and Orthodox communities, for example with the donation of a plot of land to the Orthodox Church. Relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Catholic Church remain cordial as demonstrated by the reciprocal visits of Pope Francis and King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to Bahrain and the Vatican respectively. The situation for Shia citizens, however, who constitute the majority of the population, remains dire. During the period under review, restrictions imposed by the Sunni-dominated government continued. Furthermore, individuals criticising Islam, particularly through social media posts, faced severe consequences. The prospects for religious freedom remain unchanged.
Sources
Bahrain