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A.C.N - Aid to the Church in Need Italian Office |
Religious Freedom in
the Majority Islamic Countries |
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Bahrain Population:
620,000
The tiny state of Bahrain, in which Islam is the state religion and the Sharia the source of the law, encountered its first problems with the radical Islamic movements from 1977 onwards, when the Islamic Liberation Front of Bahrain (ILFB) was founded in London. In 1981 the police foiled an attempted coup, inspired, according to the witness statements of the plotters themselves, in circles close to Iran. The attempts by the ILFB to unleash an uprising that would install an Islamic regime continued throughout the 1980s, but were opposed with efficiency and at times brutality (according to some humanitarian organisations) by the security forces of the country. Following the strong tensions in the country during the Gulf war, accompanied by anti-American demonstrations, public disorder and mass arrests, the Islamist offensive seems now to be somewhat stalled. Although a degree of religious liberty is granted to non-Muslims, proselytism is discouraged and anti-Islamic writings are forbidden. Conversion from Islam to other religions, although not punishable under the law, is rendered extremely difficult by social discrimination (according to the Report on Religious Freedom under the auspices of the United States government). |
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