During the uprising in Bahrain , 43 [2] [3] Shiite mosques and dozens of other places of worship for Shiites, including Huseynia , tombs and tombs [4] , were destroyed by a Sunni minority in power in Bahrain.
According to residents of Bahrain, the destruction of mosques was carried out as revenge for protests against the government, in turn, the Minister of Justice of Bahrain Khalid bin Ali bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa said that only buildings built without permission of the authorities were destroyed [4] .
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights stated that the actions of the Government of Bahrain are “an act of genocide under the UN Convention on Genocide ” [1] .
Content
Destruction
In July 2011, Iranian media reported that at least 52 mosques and over 500 other places of religious worship were destroyed in Bahrain [5] [6] . The mosque of Mohammed al-Barbagi was destroyed, its age was about 400 years [4] . In the village of , where the protests began that led to the uprising, many mosques were destroyed [4] . The tomb in which the body of the spiritual leader of the Bahia Shiites rested was destroyed [7] . On the ruins of some destroyed mosques inscriptions were made insulting the Shiites and their beliefs [7] . The Sasa ben Savkhan mosque, located in Askar village, was also damaged; this mosque was built shortly after the death of the Prophet Muhammad [2] .
Reaction
In May 2011, many spiritual leaders of the Bahraini Shiites, including , condemned the actions of the government, describing them as “shameless destruction of mosques” [4] . Kasim later stated that the government should rebuild the newly destroyed mosques [6] . The government of Bahrain, in response, announced that it was destroying “not mosques, but illegally constructed structures” [4] . Sheikh Ali Salman, a member of the opposition party, commenting on this government statement, pointed out that some of the mosques that were destroyed were 20-30 years old or more [8] . Later, representatives of al-Vifak stated that “any attempt to present this [destruction of mosques] as lawful actions will be neither objective nor convincing” [3] .
The US Department of State has expressed concern about these events. US President Barack Obama stated that "Shiite mosques should never be destroyed in Bahrain" [9] .
Human Rights Watch stated that the coincidence of the concern of the government of Bahrain with the legality of the mosques with the beginning of the protests looks suspicious [8] . Human Rights First noted that the destruction of mosques caused demonstrations throughout the Arab world and could lead to a deterioration of Sunni-Shiite relations. According to her, “the destruction of mosques will only aggravate the situation and will not restore stability” [10] .
Implications
In January 2012, the government of Bahrain announced that it plans to rebuild 12 destroyed Shiite mosques [11] . In December of the same year, the police prevented the residents of the village of Nuweidrat, who independently tried to restore the destroyed mosques [12] .
Notes
- 2 1 2 Discrimination and Bahrain , Bahrain Center for Human Rights.
- 2 1 2 official ally ally crack Архив Архив Archived on December 25, 2013. , McClatchy Washington Bureau. (May 30, 2011)
- 2 1 2 Bahrain Opposition Accuses Government of Demolishing 30 Mosques , bloomberg.com , April 24, 2011.
- 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 While Bahrain demolishes mosques, US stays silent , McClatchy Washington Bureau. (May 8, 2011)
- ↑ "Stop destroying Bahrain's' mosques" , Press TV , July 24, 2011 /
- 2 1 2 30 mosques demolished in Bahrain, cleric says Archived April 6, 2015. , Tehran Times, July 25, 2011,
- 2 1 2 ap intens intens intens intens intens intens intens intens intens The The The The The The The The , The The
- 2 1 2 Shi'ite mosque demolitions raise tension in Bahrain , reuters.com , April 22, 2011.
- ↑ Obama Middle East speech in BBC, (19 May 2011)
- Ma Rights Rights Архив Архив Архив Архив Архив Архив Архив Архив Архив Архив Архив Архив Archived on January 3, 2014 , April 27, 2011.
- Rain Bahrain promises to rebuild demolished mosques , ahram.org , January 12, 2012.
- Rain Bahrain Shiites defy authorities, rebuild demolished mosques Archived January 23, 2012. , December 16, 2011.
Links
- https://web.archive.org/web/20150402153200/http://www.abna24.com/eng/service/important/archive/2014/01/01/491242/story.html
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- Mosques destroyed in Bahrain by the government
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