For the second week, violations of freedom of movement continue at the entrances of Duraz region. They are measures that target citizens wishing to perform Friday prayers in the Imam Al-Sadiq Mosque (PBUH) – where the largest Friday prayer is held in Bahrain. Meanwhile, official incitement campaigns against religious speech are carried out in print and broadcast (television and radio) media, which is monopolized by the state. These campaigns target speeches in which freedom of religion and belief and freedom of opinion and expression are practiced, as guaranteed by international legislation.
It is noteworthy that one of the religious scholars, Sheikh Fadel Al-Zaki, was prevented from entering Duraz today. He gives the lecture of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) before the Friday prayer is performed.
The return of these procedures after the end of the arbitrary arrest of His Eminence Sheikh Muhammad Sanqour – who is the Friday preacher of this mosque – while the official environment still provides political immunity for those involved in spreading a surplus of hate speeches during the past years, reflects the following two things:
- The complex of persecution and sectarian discrimination is a fixed policy of the state that can be developed and modernized for political and retaliatory purposes, as is the case of closing the door of the shrine of Sasa’a Bin Suhan in the midst of the silence of the Jaafari Endowments.
The Ministry of Interior, along with its agencies such as the General Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science, are ready to promptly implement policies of political repression. We cannot fail to refer to the statement issued last month, which included phrases such as “the clock cannot go backwards,” because it is clearly a hate speech that resulted in arbitrary arrest, restriction of freedom, and ongoing incitement to undermine freedom of speech under the pretext of "rationalizing religious speech," which is a broad rule.
It is noteworthy that Duraz witnessed in the past years a restriction of freedom of movement before the end of the house arrest against the highest religious authority of the Shiite community in Bahrain, His Eminence Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Ahmed Qassim.