Posted on 05/29/2008 10:27:54 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
The Sunni ruling class keeps close to the West & is more open than is usual. The majority Shi’a population is poor, hate the government, prone to rioting, & loathe Israel. The government is rightly frightened of their seething underclass & deals with them harshly. Rape, torture, the works. Things were worse before - the new emir is kinder to them. They import Sunni Muslims from anywhere & give them citizenship very quickly in order to lower the Shi’a population. Army is off-limits for Shi’a.
Some of the worst-behaved Arabs I’ve ever met. It’s full of foreign workers, including many from other Arab countries, & they are shocked at the behavior of the native Shi’a. They were friendly, like all Gulf Arabs, & I do like them, but this is how it is. Nice country. Everyone likes it unless they’re Shi’i. Westerners love it.
As for Islamists, they are still in the early stages of what happened to the Shi’a population in Lebanon. Angry, marginalized population drawn to either communist parties or Islamist parties. In Lebanon, the Islamist parties won out & it ended with Shi’a militias. Unknown where it will go in Bahrain. No one bothers native Jews, but then again, Shi’a got along very well with native Lebanese Jews too.
Two cheers for Bahrain. A third one if they would recognize the state of Israel.
I’ve lived in Bahrain for years and I can tell you from first hand experience that Bahrainis are NOT slammie nutjobx like the Sauds. They do allow Churchs and free expression of belief.
“Yep. It’s a pretty forward place, actually. “
When were you there? We lived there before, during and after the 1st Gulf War. It was pretty forward when we were there. Except during ashurra(not sure of the spelling). I worked at the American Mission Hospital. It was a busy time at the hospital but the Westerners couldn’t be there to help. That was the only time I didn’t feel safe.
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...drawn to...communist parties....
Atheist muslims?
Just for three days in 2005, for a conference. We all enjoyed the respite since Iraq was pretty wild in those days. :)
It is meaningful progress to be sure. Of course Bahrain is a bit of an enigma in the ME. One can see where the potential for such an appointed was feasible.
Good to know that they are a more open society then the rest of the Muslim world. I imagine that has to do with education of their population.
I’ve met some Bahraini atheists, but the ones in the communist parties are mostly secular & not necessarily atheist. Shi’a are drawn to leftist parties at first for two main reasons: they are the underclass & class warfare rhetoric appeals to them, their religious philosophy is anti-government & revolutionary (unlike pro-government, conservative Sunnis). There seems to always be a convergence of communists & Shi’a in the early stages of their radicalization. It happened in Iran, then Lebanon, & I see it now in Bahrain. The Islamists win out in the end. So in Shi’a neighborhoods in Bahrain you see the phenomenon of both Soviet flags & Hezbullah flags.
Bahrain is one of those countries that Westerners have a very different idea of unless they actually live & spend their time among the real natives, not just the Western part. The Bahrain the Westerners see has a synagogue, churches, hindu temples, alcohol, & even gay bars. The real Bahrain spits at Indian workers in the street, throw molotov cocktails at the police, scribble “death to Israel” on the walls, hang Nasrallah portraits on their walls, & use Israeli flags as doormats.
Good Luck Nonoo!
The real native Bahranis are tough warriors who are grudgingly becoming urbanized.If I were in Bahrain, I would find a decent stable, rent a horse and a pack horse,and buy an AK-47 on the black market, a small tent, water bottles, and head out to tour some remote villages.
When I go to such places, I go completely native.
And I have never had any problems except for the ocassional case of dysentary.
lol me too! Who wants to see foreign workers at a hotel? I like to be with the real people & see how they live & think. I’ve been lucky so far - the worst that has happened to me is some severe vomiting after drinking bad water in South America.
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