Us Vs. Them In Their Own Country

When Sunni Muslim rulers suddenly released a group of jailed Shiite activists, it seemed like a moment of reconciliation in this Gulf Nation’s bitter sectarian divide. The Shias of Bahrain, who days before had been burning tires in protests, cheered on the streets.

But, it was a short lived hope. Since the activists were released a month ago, there have been no signs from the government keen in pursuing a dialogue with the Shias. If there is no progress, Shiites warn, there will be more turmoil.

Bahrain is a tiny country with a population of only 530,000 citizens. It is a key U.S ally and home to the Navy’s 5^th Fleet in the strategic and oil-rich Persian Gulf.

Bahrain’s Shiites say they have nothing to do with Iran. All they want is equality in a country where surprisingly, they form the majority of the population.

Other Arab nations with Shiite population, watch Bahrain closely. They say that if this sectarian divide gets out of control, it could prove to be the ground for more tensions, for example, like the Shiites wanting more rights in Saudi Arabia.

Shiites make up as much as 70% of Bahrain’s population. Here comes the twist. The country is ruled by a Sunni elite headed by the ruling Khalifa family.

The Shiites have been discriminated against for decades now. Monarchy being Sunni, they get the best government jobs and housing, while the other sect is barred from high posts in the military, suffering with higher rates of poverty.

Shiites say that the situation is only getting worse. The conditions are so bad that that Shiite villages are easily identifiable because they have been blackened with char marks from tires burnt in the recent protests. Posters of opposition leaders and graffiti bashing Bahrain’s royal family plaster the walls.

The government is accused by the Shiites for changing the sectarian balance by giving citizenship to Sunnis from Yemen, Pakistan, Syria and Jordan, a claim that the government denies.

Sunnis in turn, accuse the Shiites of secret loyalty to Iran. Iran contends that it has historical claims to Bahrain. An Iranian cleric has gone on to say that Bahrain was Iran’s 14^th province, drawing outrage from Arab leaders. The Shiites on the other hand say that that they turn for spiritual leadership to Iraq’s most prominent Shiite cleric- Grand Ayatollah Ali al- Sistani and not Iran’s supreme leader.

There is a fear in the country that if the ruling family keeps the same policies, that is, keeps cornering the Shia, marginalizes them at a point in time where Iran is gaining regional influence, there will be a situation where the Shia in Bahrain will revert to Iran.

The protests in Shiite areas of Bahrain took place because a number of their leaders were arrested. They were accused of seeking to overthrow the government through terrorism. Later, that same year, the King issued a surprise pardon that freed 22 of the arrested Shiites.

Since then, the ties have strained. Shiites say that the government just wanted everything to be fine ahead of the Formula 1 race in April. The youth of the country, the Shiite youth, feel that their future is lost before their eyes.

Release of the activists is like a last chance for everybody to think seriously into the dangers that are coming.