I wonder if they allow churches?
IIRC, Saudi Arabia is the only country in the Middle East that does not allow churches. (Which is not to say that the other Muslim countries don't make things hard for Christians and members of other religions.) I believe this restriction goes back to the time of the conquest of the Arabian Penninsula in the 7th century AD and the establishment at that time of the Hijaz (Muslim homeland/heartland). The royal government (House of Faud) is the keeper of the the two holy mosques and cities (Medina - burial place of the Prophet and Mecca- site of the Kaabah) and thereby is the defacto defender of the Islamic faith. Hence their prohibition against churches (or houses of worship other than Islamic).
I think Bahrain allows churches. The small Gulf states are actually doing well, especially Dubai, and are well ahead of the curve when it comes to Muslim societies being accomodating to non-Muslims. Bahrain is host to a Formula One race - anything that get's people's noses out of the Koran is a good thing!. I hope they continue down this road and can inspire reformers throughout the entire Muslim world. This story is good news. Even better is the positive press coverage.