There are still hurdles before the kingdom in Western Asia becomes the moderate face of Islam
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle (R) and sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Khalifa (C) arrive at Our Lady Arabia Cathedral ahead of its opening in Awali, south of the Bahraini capital Manama on December 9, 2021. Pope Francis is expected to visit the church in November. (Photo: Mazen Mahdi/AFP
After their interaction hardly 50 days ago in Kazakhstan, they are meeting yet again. This time, in the Islamic monarchy of Bahrain, Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb, Egypt’s Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, and a host of world religious leaders will deliver a message that a Middle East free from wars is possible.
After the two-day Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana from Sept 14-15, Pope Francis, Dr. Al Tayeb and more than 200 religious leaders are participating in the two-day “Bahrain Forum for Dialogue: East and West for Human Coexistence” from Nov 3.
By holding a global meeting that puts a thrust on harmony in place of sectarian conflicts and clashes of civilizations plaguing the Middle East, Bahrain under the monarch, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, is trying to raise its profile as a place of dialogue and peaceful coexistence between different identities and communities.
The Supreme Pontiff was supposed to visit Bahrain as early as 2014 after the first meeting at the Vatican between Pope Francis and King Hamad.
But the pope opted for the United Arab Emirates. He signed the Declaration for Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together along with Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb in Abu Dhabi on Feb. 4, 2019. King Hamad has endorsed the Document on Human Fraternity as a major milestone to foster religious harmony.
Islamic-majority Bahrain can be cited as relatively religiously tolerant compared with its neighbors like Saudi Arabia and other nations in the Persian Gulf. The country occupies a prominent position in banking and trade in the Middle East and attracts a large number of expatriates due to its business-friendly image.
Most Christians in Bahrain are from Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Palestine, and Jordan who form 1 percent of the country’s 1.7 million people. There are many Christians from other nationalities, pegged at more than 100,000, mostly Asians from the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, and other western nations.
To make Bahrain one of the main centers of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia, of which Bahrain is a part, along with Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, on Dec. 10 last year, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, consecrated the kingdom’s largest cathedral, Our Lady of Arabia.
The ark-shaped cathedral, with a seating capacity of 2,300, is located in the municipality of Awali and is frequented by immigrant workers.
The local Church has launched a website www.bahrainpapalvisit.org for the papal visit to Bahrain, scheduled for Nov 3-6.
The official logo unites the flags of the kingdom and the Vatican. The olive branch in the center symbolizes the fruit of peace and the words “Pope Francis” are colored blue “to indicate that the visit is entrusted to the intercession of ‘Our Lady of Arabia,’ patroness of the region.
In 2019, Francis became the first pope to say a Mass on the Arabian peninsula and he will celebrate a solemn Mass at the Bahrain National Stadium on Nov 5.
Though Bahrain officially grants freedom of religion, a provision in the constitution curbs violation of established customs, policies, and morals, which are influenced by Sunni Islam.
Bahrain, an archipelago of 33 islands on the west coast of the Persian Gulf, is trying to have a facelift after quelling an uprising by Shias in 2011, who form at least half the population in the Sunni kingdom.
The protesters wanted a legitimate parliament and free and fair elections. What they got instead were bullets in an invasion sponsored by Saudi Arabia.
The sectarian crackdown continues up to now, even after the Arab Spring in 2011, and the authorities have rounded up many activists on charges of terrorism, extremism, and violence. In January 2019, the kingdom’s Supreme Court upheld the life sentence for Shia opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman in a final ruling and a prominent Shia cleric, Sheikh Abduljalil Al-Miqdad, founder of the opposition group Al Wafaa, was also sentenced to life imprisonment.
Bahrain was part of Iran but got itself separated by a controversial referendum in 1970, and in August 2020, normalized diplomatic ties with Israel in the US-brokered Abraham Accords along with the UAE. Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid inaugurated Israel’s embassy during a historic visit to Bahrain in September 2021.
Citing the threat from Iran’s nuclear programs, Bahrain has sought refuge under the US security umbrella and hosts the US Navy’s fifth fleet at a logistical and security base.
There are still hurdles before Bahrain becomes the moderate face of Islam in the Middle East. But that will not deter Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed from seeking a war-free Middle East for the good of humanity.
*The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.
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