The Complexity of Reconciliation in Bahrain
Posted on 14 January 2012 by Suhail
My head is spinning! This whole reconciliation business is not easy!
I’m told that prof. Bassiouni said that working in Libya was a walk in the park compared to Bahrain, and I believe him. Emotions are still high, and the wounds very raw. And the government’s snail-paced reform process is not helping.
To give you a quick update, I’ve been doing some rounds visiting some key players in Bahrain, and just conversing – mostly just listening. I’m not really trying to convince anyone of anything just yet, I just want to make sure I hear all sides of the story. And just like everything else about the Bahrain crisis, there are two (or several) different sides of the story. It seems that very few are willing to see things from the other side’s perspective.
Here’s a quick summary of how I see things, and please excuse the generalities:
Shias feel that they are marginalised by the government and demand their rights. Many in the government view these demands as unjustified and sectarian based. Sunnis are angry at Shias for the violent rioting that took place, and are convinced that since the rioters did not take the Sunnis feelings into consideration, and made them feel afraid and unsafe, that the riots/protests/uprisings were sectarian based. Rejecting HRH’s Crown Prince initiative and escalating the riots and taking them out of the pearl roundabout was the only proof they needed that this was a sectarian revolution.
The protesting Shias are dismissive of the Sunni anger, saying we have no problems with Sunnis, and they say “besides, aren’t we the ones who have been persecuted, fired from our jobs, jailed tortured and killed?” This perceived lack of repsect infuriates Sunnis even more, convincing them even more that Shias want to create an Iran backed Wilayat Al-Faqeeh state. Some are even saying that the government was not harsh enough on them.
On certain days, it feels like literally everyone in Bahrain is dissatisfied. Meanwhile, the government is reforming slower than it takes a lizard to evolve into a chicken. There seems to be very little leadership at the moment.
And to add sizzle to the whole mix, Iran and prominent Shia clerics in Iraq are continuing to comment on Bahrain, as if it’s their business. One Shia friend once commented to me “the Iranian revolution is the worse thing that could happens to Shias in the Gulf.” I agree.
The question is my friend, how deep down the rabbit hole do you want to go? I’m in pretty deep, and going deeper…
Someone asked me recently “do you see any light at the end of the tunnel?” My reply was “I see light because I force myself to see it.”
I remain optimistic, but it’s not easy…
I agree the process is tough Suhail, and God almighty we hope for it to take place at much faster pace.
I would stress though that even though some people in Bahrain (mainly Sunni) do not like comments made by Iran regarding Bahrain’s situation, it must be noted that according to BICI’s report and Bassiouni the evidence that Iran is behind all of this is rather weak and simply does not exist on many grounds. They also aren’t the only ones commenting about Bahrain, so in true essence maybe in general we should oppose any country out there commenting about our beloved country’s situation. Don’t you agree? I know Syrians for example whom did not like Qatar making bold statements about their country’s unrest.
Further more I really would advise that we start using the terms Pro and Anti-Government as I think using sectarian and racial terms to identity them is rather unfair and certainly does not match the exact truth and perspective of the two big sects in Bahrain respectively. It is true that on both sides you will find a majority comprising of a certain sect, but still we can not label it solely as Sunni or Shia.
Thanks,
and Oh even I fell for a second to this wave of sectarian terminology! I should have said above that mainly Pro-government supporters do not like comments made by Iran…:)
Who in the rigt mind would want to reconcile with Hezbolla terrorist? Who would forgive/forget what they have done to our country? To our families? To our pride? Terrorists belong behind bars. Not roaming around freely doing whatever they want knowing that te laws are way too lenient.
The sooner the shiite speak up and condemn them, the better/easier this will be..
once they condemn the terrorists acts, law & order will be restored and hen the sectarianism will heal.
@BRN: The process of reconciliation will be even more difficult if yourself or others decide to use such terms in identifying groups in Bahrain. The less demeaning and sectarian terms used, the better and more closer we can get to the reconciling stage. We all know that we are angry, distressed and fuming about the situation and what has happened in our beloved Bahrain. However we must maintain a level or respect for one another and stop using terms such as “terrorist” that have been widely used by Western Islam-phobic media and certainly we have been opposing for many years.
The BICI report has opened up our eyes that mistakes have been made on both sides and I am sure wise men like the Crown Prince would not want us to be pointing the finger at one another and work on tarnishing each other’s reputation.
I hope this makes sense brother or sister
Bahraini85, I’m saying it for what it is. Killing people, burning the streets, throwing steel rods, attacking with knives, hurling molotov cocktails, attacking innocent bystanders, cutting off tongues, kidnapping people, attacking students, blocking highways, torturing expats, and and and..
This, my friend, is considered terrorism. Besides, isn’t Hezbolla a terrorist organization? Case closed. I will not ever reconcile with terrorists. I am not asking you to join me, I am stating my point of view.
To me, there is only one option, apply the rule of law, and stop bowing down to the west. I started to hate democracy and found out that Human Rights Organizations are political orgs that dont give a rats behind about people.
I know deep down inside all of you, you have the same view but you’re not saying it. I am. There are no people with a neutral stance, you are either with Hezbollah or against.
Isa Qassim, his puppy Ali, Nabeel, the Khawajas, all of them make me ashamed that I am Bahraini. We need our dignity back, Apply the rule of law. We want to live SAFELY in the “country of law”…
There are several Saudi owned channels with various sunni Saudi clerics commenting on the Bahrain situation, calling for crushing the Shia in Bahrain, and are acting more pro-government than the government of Bahrain. Isn’t it none of their business too? There are sheiks in Qatar commenting on the Bahrain situation. Isn’t it none of their business too? And then we have people traveling to Europe and elsewhere around the world meeting with various officials listening to their comments on Bahrain. Isn’t it none of their business too?
Heba, The GCC have everything to do with Bahrain. They are Bahrain and we are the GCC. Like it or not.
However, countries like Iran, Iraq, USA, or groups like Hezbollah must have nothing to do with this… Yet, they are commenting and they have no right whatsoever ..
Get it now?
BRN, random fundamentalist Sheikhs in Saudi and Qatar speaking about the situation in Bahrain has nothing to do with the fact that Bahrain is a part of the GCC. But if your argument is that because the government of Bahrain is a part of the GCC, then therefore every citizen living inside the GCC has the right to speak about the situation inside Bahrain, then why stop there? Why not also recognize that Bahrain is a part of the Arab League and therefore every citizen living in the Arab world has a right to speak about the situation inside Bahrain? Actually, Bahrain is also a part of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which includes Bahrain, Iran, Lebanon, and so forth and therefore why not also say that every citizen of a country inside the OIC has a right to speak about Bahrain? We actually can even take it a step further and say Bahrain is a part of the United Nations and therefore every citizen of a country in the United Nations has a right to speak about what is happening inside Bahrain.
Get it now?