We do not want theocracy in Bahrain





I don’t know what caused me to write this, the sleeping pills or the sadness of watching my country being pushed into chaos and self-harm.

As a young Bahraini, I barely have memories of the 90’s uprising. My instinctive mistrust of utopias and revolutions only alienates me further from older Bahrainis, whose political goals and modus operandi seem to have frozen in time. I can’t find a spot for myself and people like me in their vocabularies; left vs. right, liberal vs. conservative, and mostly Sunni vs. Shia’a.

In Bahrain, every trace of difference between the two sects is a threat and every call for acceptance is seen as a plot and also, every call for reconciliation by our crown prince is seen as a failure. People are ready to discard and dehumanize others, force and impose their opinions at all costs.

I raise my question here; is there any other way? I believe in reforms and modernization.

Since 2011, patriotic and anarchic feelings have been on the rise in Bahrain which led the country to polarize and shift to Lulu roundabout and Al Fateh mosque. People like me had no voice whatsoever in the crisis. It’s either you’re with us or your statements aren’t credible enough and should not be taken seriously.

The unrest and tension are only signals of a shift we are going through. Bahrain is undergoing a huge change and what fears me is that we will be swallowed by this phenomenon of a new MENA that will lead Bahrainis to hold tightly to what they perceive to be under threat, and that is, religion and sects which are the main problem of our national unity. I truly hope that all of this mess has the potential to give birth to an entire new Bahrain.

-Rukaya