Islamic Community in US Stands Up for Bahrain

Hundreds in Dearborn mark anniversary of protests in Bahrain
19 February, 2012 – Dearborn Free Press – By Niraj Warikoo

Marking the first year anniversary of the protests in Bahrain, about 500 gathered in a Dearborn mosque Friday night to call for freedom and democracy in the Gulf country.

“What’s happening in Bahrain is a crime,” said Imam Husham Al-Husainy, head of the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center, where the event was held. “The world is not recognizing what is going on.”

Inspired by uprisings in other Arab countries, protests started in Bahrain on Feb. 14 last year, primarily by its Shia-majority population. The country’s Sunni rulers have squashed down on protests with help from security forces from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The protesters are asking for democracy, no religious discrimination, and freedom of expression in a country of 1.2 million people currently ruled by a monarchy.

The crowd in Dearborn consisted of Bahraini-Americans and supporters in the local Iraqi Shia community. Posters of people killed by security forces in Bahrain were on the walls of the mosque as speakers criticized the government of Bahrain.

Imam Hassan Qazwini, head of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, the biggest mosque in Michigan, was at the event to show his support. In his talk, he compared the rulers of Bahrain to Saddam Hussein, the late ruler of Iraq who often mistreated Iraqi Shias. After Saddam Hussein’s downfall, some of his security forces went to Bahrain to work in security and are helping in the crackdown, said speakers at the event.

Qazwini is a native of Iraq who is Shia and the Karbalaa center is an Iraqi Shia mosque.

The U.S. government has criticized at times Bahrain’s actions against protesters, but considers Bahrain’s King Hamad as an ally. The U.S. military has a naval base in Bahrain. The government of Saudi Arabia also supports Bahrain’s government.

Local Bahrainis want the U.S. to support the democratic aspirations of people inside their native country.

“During the past year, there has been brutality and aggression against peaceful protesters asking for their rights,” said Dr. Osama Alaradi, of Canton, a native of Bahrain.

Bahrain has set up a commission to deal with the concerns of protesters, but Alaradi said “the government is not trying to solve the problem.”
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have criticized the government for its crackdown. Last month, the U.S. State Department said it “is deeply concerned by continuing incidents of violence in Bahrain between police and demonstrators. Some US Embassy officials have met with human rights activist Nabeel Rajab, who was injured during a demonstration in Bahrain last month. …more