12th July, 2012 –
With major developments on the political scene in Bahrain during the past fifteen months, Bahrainis will be soon receiving the holy month of Ramadhan for the second time since the February 2011 unrest. The protest movement and sectarian tensions are ongoing while the opposition refuses to join a dialogue that does not meet its conditions. The holy month of Ramadhan during which the first verses of the Holy Quran were heavenly sent to Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), is considered as a sacred month when humans should feel for the poor and the less fortunate.
The main teachings of Islam, a religion that derives from the principles of peace are strongly emphasized upon during Ramadhan. However, the unrest in Bahrain has left Muslims with a high level of sectarian behavior and hatred amongst Sunni and Shia Bahrainis. The society has different views to what the holy month would bring about this year. Will we have more protests? Will the street violence and attacks on policemen come to an end? And many more questions that are left unanswered.
“ Ramadhan brings about a good opportunity for people to set aside their religious and political differences and to come together as people who share the same beliefs and practices” said Sara 27 from Sanad.
“ Religious sermons should emphasize on social harmony and tolerance during the holy month, we have hardly seen any religious figures promoting these factors, they have been abusing religion to brainwash their followers for so long and we all need to wake up and get over our differences” said Khalid 33 from Muharraq.
Many people believe that the protests will be ongoing and this is disrespectful to the holy month and to the religion in general. “ I urge all the protesters to enjoy the sacredness of Ramadhan and to think that the policemen being attacked are their Muslim brothers and humans above all, they should stop viewing them as mercenaries who need to be crushed” said Mariam 32 from Manama.
“ How can we even expect the political disturbances and daily chaos to come to an end in Ramadhan, when religious scholars incite hatred. On one hand we have the Shia Ayatollahs in mosques calling on their followers to crush policemen and on the other hand we have the extremist Sunni scholars who call Shias non-believers in mosques as well. This does not serve our society which has always been known for its tolerance prior to the unrest” said Ahmed 28 from Riffa.
“ I don’t think much will change, we have had protests in Ramadhan last year, tear gas and black smoke from tyres were covering my area. It is yet another opportunity to spread peace through social programmes in villages, people should be taught that Islam is what they have in common and they should bring an end to the Sunni-Shia war during the holy month” said Isa 48 from Saar.
Ramadhan was once all about peace and harmony to Bahrainis. Sunnis and Shias live in the same neighbourhoods in many areas across Bahrain. Sharing dishes among neighbours during Iftar time is a widely spread phenomena all around the country. The society was respectful and both sects shared dishes, gathered during Suhoor time while disregarding all their sectarian and political differences.
“ I have grown up in a neighbourhood where everyday I wait for my Shia neighbor to send her amazing homemade samboosa during iftar time, our relationship is still the same, we might differ politically but we still respect each other and I am actually looking forward to my neigbour’s amazing Ramadhan dishes” said Layla 26 from Isa Town.
“ Bahrainis should honestly start looking past the differences in their sects, many of us still live in harmony, it is the extremists on both sides who are ruining our country, so whether it is Ramadhan or not violence should end and extremists should stop inciting hatred among Muslims” said Hassan 34 from Budaiya.
“ School students are on summer vacation during Ramadhan and this might give rise to the daily protests as we have noticed during the past few weeks, these brainwashed youngsters are being exploited by religious men who lack an understanding for the teachings of Islam and someone has to step in to spread awareness in the villages in order to have a cultured future generation of Bahrainis” said Ali 41 from Hamad Town.
“ My father is Shia and my mother is Sunni and I have been brought up in a very tolerant environment, the only disturbing thing is that last year during Ramadhan most of our family gatherings revolved around political discussions, many people experienced the same thing, we should all start disregarding politics and enjoy the spirit of the holy month” said Mohammed 27 from Sanad
“ The protests will be ongoing until a major political change is implemented, order should be restored and awareness should be spread, until then we cannot expect any kind of calm on our streets, hence Ramadhan wont change anything” said Hussein 30 from Saar.
“ As a society we should emphasize on tolerance and respect during the holy month, we cannot only expect the government to play this role, if they have failed then it is our responsibility to bring an end to this chaos. According to my knowledge many groups are working on spreading awareness on tolerance and non-violent means of expressing views during Ramadhan” said Fatima 32 from Manama.
“ During my weekly Ramadhan gatherings with my friends from both sects, the most amazing thing is that we sit together on the same table during Iftar time and since Sunnis break their fast around ten minutes before Shias due to differences over their interpretation of the time to break fast, you would notice that half of us would break our fast while the other half waits for ten minutes and we keep teasing our Shia friends without offending them for waiting ten more minutes while we enjoy our food. We have taken things lightly despite our differences and this is how all Bahrainis should be like” said Nawaf 28 from Riffa.
Bahrainis were known to be a tolerant nation; extremist elements in the society have recently fueled people with insensible thoughts against both sects. Islam along with other religions is all about love, peace and respect, we have unfortunately been dragged to an unusual state of sectarian terror as a result of the practices of both Sunni and Shia extremists who have completely ignored the teachings of Islam and the sacredness of the holy month of Ramadhan, a month when God gave our prophet (PBUH) the task of bringing people together against hatred and inhuman behaviours. May the holy month bring calm to our beloved Bahrain and to all Muslims around the world.