Islam cannot be criticised: Bahrain jails 3 men for advocating open discussion of Islam

[duluxe]

https://www.jpost.com/christianworld/article-705018

While Christianity is fading in countries across the Middle East and North Africa, the tiny island country of Bahrain recently opened the largest Catholic church in the Gulf, giving a tremendous boost to the Christian community.

Last year, the pope was warmly received in Bahrain; he stated:

It is not enough to grant permits and recognize freedom of worship. It is necessary to achieve true freedom of religion.

The latest news, however, shows up that even in a country such as Bahrain, the Sharia, as the principal source for legislation, is shown up for its repressiveness and incompatibility with Western values. This is still little understood by far too many Western leaders.

Although “Bahrain has established a reputation in the Gulf region for being open to religious tolerance and pluralism,” it is characteristic of any Sharia-adherent country that freedom of speech is not allowed, further illustrating why Western countries need to adhere to their own principles in light of mass Muslim migration to the West. It also needs to be noted that insults to the Bible are included within the scope of the Bahraini law. However, Christians generally support the freedom of speech and free will; punishment for insults to the Bible or Christianity in general are not found in contemporary majority-Christian states. So here we see Bahrain is extending its Sharia tenets to Christianity. Bahrain is not the only Muslim country that attempts to expand its own Sharia principles regarding criticism, insults and blasphemy to apply to insults to all religions. According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, “Turkey has for many years criminalized blasphemy or expression deemed insulting to religion or religious beliefs,” and Turkey seeks such laws to be international. It needs to be noted that blasphemy laws are indeed present but dormant in many Western countries, and dormant for good reason.

The violent and murderous reactions of some Muslims to insults of Muhammad and Islam are not found among adherents of other religions, so trying to draw other religions into efforts to criminalize the freedom of speech and expression must be firmly rejected by all Western countries. However, the “Islamophobia” subterfuge has already subverted most Western countries under Sharia principles. Criticizing Islam should not be illegal in itself, and if an irrational individual uses such criticism as an excuse to commit a crime, then he or she should be fully prosecuted and made an example of. It is a necessity that all ideologies and ideas be able to be scrutinized.

Bahrain has a much better reputation for religious freedom than many Islamic countries. Yet Jalal al-Qassab, Redha Rajab, and Mohammed Rajab have been jailed for advancing discussion about, and criticism of, Islam. Their group’s members met with violence from Muslim individuals and rage from Muslim clerics.

“Bahrain jails men over YouTube discussion of Islam,” by Sebastian Usher, BBC, March 31, 2023:

Three members of a religious and cultural society in Bahrain that advocates open discussion of Islamic issues have been given jail terms.
They were prosecuted under a law that criminalises “ridicule” of any of Bahrain’s recognised religious texts, which include the Quran and the Bible.
Human rights groups say the men were persecuted for expressing their right to free speech and belief.
The society said the case had fuelled violence against it members.
In a series of programmes posted on YouTube, Al-Tajdeed Society has raised questions over Islamic legal theory and opinions issued by Islamic clerics.
The group is Shia Muslim, which accounts for the majority of Bahrain’s population, although the ruling family is Sunni Muslim.
But prominent Shia clerics have been the most openly hostile to the organisation, denouncing its work as blasphemy and calling for Al-Tajdeed members to be ostracised.
A lawsuit was finally submitted against the group, with the prosecution saying the case had been brought “in defence of our righteous religion” and to “prevent sedition within society”. It demanded the maximum punishment under Bahraini law.
Al-Tajdeed – which means renewal in Arabic – responded by saying in court: “Thoughts are to be challenged with thoughts, and words are not to be suppressed by the authority of the law”.
The court has now sentenced the three defendants – Jalal al-Qassab, Redha Rajab and Mohammed Rajab – to a year in jail and a fine. The sentence is suspended, pending an appeal.
Al-Tajdeed has said that the court case has exacerbated an existing campaign at mosques and on social media, encouraging verbal and physical violence against its members…..
During the trial, Human Rights Watch had called for the charges to be dropped and for a halt to inflammatory public comments condemning Al-Tajdeed on religious grounds.
Bahrain has established a reputation in the Gulf region for being open to religious tolerance and pluralism. It inaugurated the largest church in the region, Our Lady of Arabia Cathedral, in 2021. It also has one of the only remaining Jewish communities in the Gulf.