Hawzah News Agency- Bahrain's police chief acknowledged in a Reuters interview the Al Khalifa regime's retaliatory approach to uprooting Shia religious thought through security means—statements full of blatant fallacies and efforts to criminalize religious beliefs.
Blatant Fallacies and Distortion of Religious Beliefs
The Bahraini police chief's remarks contain clear and obvious fallacies, primarily presenting the Al Khalifa regime's view of a brutal campaign through which it seeks to convince listeners that it is justified in all its actions. This involves a great deal of fabrication, distortion, and insult to a pure religious belief.
Al Hassan claims that detainees advocate obedience to Iran, thereby escalating the accusation, destroying the image of religious scholars, undermining their dignity, and portraying them as traitors to their country. This means he does not stop at political accusations against detainees but moves to a far more dangerous level—accusing an entire religious belief and turning it into grounds for collective condemnation, as if belief in the theory of Velayat-e Faqih or faith in religious authority beyond geographical borders is inherently a crime.
Rejecting the Inseparability of Religious Belief and Political Affiliation
Here the fundamental fallacy must be exposed: faith in religious authority does not mean political submission to a foreign state; religious affiliation does not erase national identity; and a spiritual connection to a religious scholar does not make his follower a subject of that scholar's state. These are self-evident points requiring little explanation, but when the government deliberately conflates everything and portrays religious and intellectual diversity as a security threat, stating them becomes necessary.
Securitizing Religious Difference
Furthermore, Al Hassan speaks of "treating the problem at its roots." In the context of an escalating campaign targeting Shia religious scholars, this phrase is not an ordinary detail but reveals a mindset that treats religious difference as a problem to be eradicated rather than a legitimate right of citizens. Are Bahraini citizens being asked to abandon their religious beliefs and interpretations to prove their loyalty to their country? Is citizenship conditioned on disregarding religious authorities whom the government did not choose?
Lack of Evidence and Evasion of Fundamental Questions
More absurdly, Al Hassan speaks on behalf of national sovereignty while that sovereignty is being misused to justify interference in citizens' consciences and beliefs and to prosecute religious scholars for their jurisprudential roles and religious beliefs.
Al Hassan also deliberately avoids answering the most fundamental question: Where is the evidence proving that detained scholars issued political directives in favor of Iran or sought to overthrow the regime? If authorities have evidence of specific crimes, they should present it before an independent court and give defendants the right to defense and a fair trial. Relying on vague accusations about loyalty, brainwashing, and ideology does not turn accusation into truth and does not give the government an open license to punish people for their beliefs.
Creating a Fabricated Enemy Instead of Solving Crises
What Tariq Al Hassan is trying to promote is not a defense of sovereignty but an attempt to provide pretexts for a security campaign targeting an authentic segment of Bahraini society. Instead of addressing internal gaps and seeking the causes of problems and lost trust, the government prefers to create a fabricated enemy.
Your Comment