The Political Council of the February 14 Revolution Youth Coalition issued
the weekly position, which reads as follows:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
The Political Council of the February 14 Revolution Youth Coalition
condemns the grave and ongoing overreach by the Khalifi entity in
targeting the religious rites of Shia Muslims in Bahrain. This crime was
acknowledged by the entity’s Interior Minister, the terrorist Rashid Al
Khalifa, during his recent meeting with editors-in-chief of the official
newspapers, which he reiterated his targeting of Bahrain’s largest Friday
prayer held at Imam Al-Sadiq Mosque (peace be upon him) in Diraz. These
prayers have been suspended under threats of fire since October of last
year. We consider this a direct challenge to Shia beliefs, which reject
linking prayer’s Imam and mosques affairs to the state and its
governmental institutions, especially after the Khalifi minister dared to
confront the senior religious scholars of the country and insult well-
established religious fatwas on this matter.
In this context, and in light of local and regional developments, we note the
following points:
1- We regard the statements made by the Khalifi Interior Minister as a
crime itself against religious beliefs and senior religious scholars. We
also view his recent remarks as irrefutable evidence of the systematic
crimes led by the tyrant Hamad for years against the rituals, beliefs,
and religious institutions of Shia Muslims in Bahrain. We call on
activists in the field of religious freedom to use these statements as
evidence to be added to the Khalifa regime’s dark record. These
statements should serve as a basis for pursuing them in international
courts for the crime of targeting the beliefs of Shia citizens and
undermining their autonomy in managing their religious
affairs—actions that amount to cultural genocide and pose a threat to
their religious and historical existence.
2- In this context, we commend our people and revolutionary youth for
their strong stance in challenging the military blockade imposed on
Diraz to prevent the holding of Friday prayers. This stance is not
surprising for a resilient people who understand that the battle with
the Khalifi regime has become clear in its objectives—it is a battle for
identity, existence, and destiny. There is no longer any option but to
regard this criminal regime as an eradicationist, settler-colonial, and
occupation entity, sharing the same characteristics as the Zionist
entity. It is no wonder, then, that we see complete alignment between
these two entities, surpassing that of other regional regimes. Both are
artificial constructs established through usurpation, killing, apartheid,
the displacement of citizens, the destruction of homes and historical
mosques, and the fabrication of mythical narratives about their
falsified histories.
3- The renewed open war on the beliefs and identity of our people in
Bahrain coincides with the escalation by the Zionist-American alliance
against Lebanon and its triumphant resistance. The Khalifi regime
saw this as a golden opportunity to reaffirm its servitude to the
malicious alliance led by the criminal Netanyahu under the guidance
of the “Great Satan” in Washington. The Al Khalifa regime quickly
resumed its hatred and animosity against our people, their beliefs,
and their religious pulpits. The siege of Diraz and the prohibition of
the country’s largest Friday prayer became a renewed pledge of
allegiance to Zionism. This action effectively silenced the strongest
religious pulpit representing our people and their stance in support of
resistance in Gaza and Lebanon. This was followed by repeated
threats to restrict community assemblies, prohibit political
discussions, and target all pulpits and voices representing the popular
opposition to the Zionist-American project.
4- We affirm that the war against beliefs, houses of Allah (Mosques),
and their free pulpits will not succeed in intimidating our people,
youth, or free scholars. The banner of support, loyalty, and sacrifice
for the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon will not fall, and our
people will never surrender to the normalization plan, no matter how
oppressive and deceitful the Khalifi regime becomes. The people of
Bahrain—from all communities and regions—who were the quickest
and strongest in supporting the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation,
confronting normalization, and raising the flags of resistance in the
streets and squares of the country, remain steadfast in their religious
and national covenant to support the most honorable heroic
resistances and preserve the will of the leader of the martyrs of the
Ummah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (may his sanctity endure). No
threats of killing, imprisonment, or exile will deter them. As for the
Zionist ambassador preparing to return and desecrate our land, he
should know that a resistant people will be lying in wait for him, in
ways he can neither foresee nor imagine.
5- We renew our salute and great pride in the decisive and historic
victory achieved by the triumphant resistance in Lebanon. We
express our admiration and reverence for the steadfast people of the
resistance, who have provided a new lesson in profound loyalty.
Through their patience and resilience, they completed a saga of
triumph against one of the fiercest wars waged on Lebanon and its
resistance, so the Zionist enemy and its despairing American ally
have been utterly defeated. The resistance has succeeded in toppling
the global arrogance project and exposing once again the lie of the
“invincible army.” This would not have been possible without the
immense sacrifices made by Lebanon—its people and resistance—
and the greatest of these sacrifices was the martyrdom of the leader
of the martyrs of the Ummah and the other martyr leaders. We pledge
to them that they will remain the eternal beacon lighting the path for
this nation toward sovereignty, freedom, and liberation from tyranny,
colonial powers, and aggression.
6- The victory of the resistance in Lebanon caused defeat and
disappointment among the normalization regimes and their
collaborators spread across the region, which they were waiting for
the moment when the Zionists would announce the complete defeat
of the resistance in Gaza and Lebanon. It was not surprising that
terrorist groups, immediately after the ceasefire in Lebanon was
announced, began to resume the Zionist project on the Syrian front
and continue with the plan set for them to drain the capabilities of the
axis of resistance and scatter its strategic objectives. This means that
these terrorist groups are intended to obstruct the re-strengthening of
the resistance’s power in Lebanon and Gaza, and to serve as a
Zionist tool to ignite crises and seditions in the countries neighboring
occupied Palestine. This current challenge calls for more caution and
vigilance. Here, we urge the forces in our country, Bahrain, to learn
from the lessons of the past and not to be drawn into the sectarian
strife project being prepared by the Zionists and normalization
regimes. We must remain firm in our national unity, which was
embodied in the popular consensus supporting the resistance and
confronting the Zionist project and its collaborators, including the
normalizers and Takfiris.
Political Council – February 14 Revolution Youth Coalition
Monday, December 2, 2024
Occupied Bahrain
