Bahrain Continues Crackdown ahead of Muharram Mourning Ceremonies

Rasa - The Bahrain’s ruling Al Khalifa regime continued its repressive measures ahead of the first month of the Islamic lunar calendar of Muharram.

News ID: 432582

Date: 21 September 2017 - 23:16

RNA - The Manama regime’s mercenaries, escorted by security forces, raided the villages of Shahrakan, Jid Ali, Malkiya and Karzakan, taking down Ashura banners and flags and removing black cloths that had draped walls in the areas, Bahrain Mirror reported.

The latest move came as since early this week, the repressive Bahraini regime has launched campaign targeting religious manifestations of Muharram mourning ceremonies commemorated annually by Shiite Muslims who constitute a majority in the Persian Gulf monarchy. Security forces removed banners and flags that have Muharram religious slogans in the Sitra and Nuwaidrat areas.

The authorities have been directly targeting Shiite Muslim majority since 2011 for leading the popular movement that demands democratic transition and putting an end to Al Khalifa monopoly over power.

Around 4000 Shiite Muslims have been incarcerated, including dozens of clerics and prominent political dissidents, languish behind bars for political reasons.

The first ten days of Muharram, the month of the Islamic Hijri calendar, mark the martyrdom of the third Shiite Imam and the grandson of Prophet Mohammad SAW, Imam Hussein AS, in 680 AD in a battle with the tyrant of the time. The tenth day of Muharram, known as Ashura, marks the day when Imam Hussein was martyred with 72 of his loyal companions.

The historic event's message of resistance and rising up against tyranny has been key to the evolution of a culture which rejects abjection at any rate.

Protest rallies in Bahrain have continued on an almost daily basis ever since a popular uprising started in the kingdom in 2011. The protesters are demanding that the Al Khalifah dynasty relinquish power.

Scores of people have been killed and hundreds of others injured in a harsh crackdown which is backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

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