PNN – There is a common understanding among the genuine and deep-rooted Shiites of Bahrain that everything that is happening today is aimed at destroying or eliminating their identity and existence. The Shiites have no other interpretation for this situation; an unprecedented war of purification, which is directly targeting them.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, Lebanese writer and journalist Latifa Al-Husseini stated in an article titled “The Most Dangerous Security Project in Bahrain; An Attack Targeting a Religion” published on the country’s Al-Ahd News website:
What we are experiencing today was not seen even during the reign of the king’s grandfather; one citizen used this phrase to describe what is happening in Bahrain, a dangerous escalation in security repression against a specific and specific section of the country.
Like this Bahraini citizen, dozens and hundreds of others feel they are under a suffocating siege that targets their historical existence; an existence that has been rooted in this land since before the Al Khalifa came to power.
Forty-one religious scholars were arrested in Bahrain in just one hour on the morning of May 9, 2026. All of these individuals are considered representatives of the first ranks of scholars, sheikhs, and sadats; figures on whom religious and social discourse within the kingdom rests, who have direct contact with the people, speak their language, and reflect their livelihood, social, political, and legal concerns.
The accelerated process of the crisis
During the recent aggression against Iran, the Bahraini regime participated in the war and targeted operations carried out from its territory. As a result of its blind alignment with the American-Israeli axis, the regime decided to expose the territory that hosts American bases and interests to Iranian missiles and drones.
But instead of backing down from handing over its territory to the Americans, it once again resorted to revenge against its own people, creating a security environment that targeted any citizen who published a picture or video of the attacks in Bahrain, and anyone who criticized the government for its ill-considered military choices. Mass arrests continued unabated.
At the same time, King Hamad bin Isa once again openly used the weapon of citizenship revocation, a tool that the Bahraini people had experienced well after the 2011 protests. This time, the threat level was much higher, as it came directly from the top of the power pyramid. 69 citizens who were born in Bahrain were stripped of their citizenship.
At the same time, the Bahraini House of Representatives also stepped in to support the move, passing a law that would remove citizenship issues from the jurisdiction of the judiciary. Only three deputies opposed the bill. Once again, the king threatened the three men with an apology or else…..
The three MPs apologized in a statement that was allegedly drafted not by them but by the parliament’s presidency. Then, with new orders, 37 out of 40 MPs agreed to expel the three on charges of treason.
This scenario did not satisfy the ruler, but he decided to attack the clerical movement in Bahrain, where he ordered 41 Shiite clerics to be sent to prison at once, under the title “Arrest of the Core of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps in Bahrain.” This was the propaganda title of the operation, accompanied by a massive media campaign in local media and the cyber-army to promote the treason narrative at home and abroad.
Obvious slander
It doesn’t take much effort to refute the fabricated slander against scholars in the Interior Ministry video. The most prominent accusation is that of the guardianship of the jurist; as if belief in it has become a crime in the logic of the government. In principle, the Bahraini constitution guarantees freedom of belief. Article 22 of the constitution states:
Freedom of conscience is absolute, and the state guarantees the sanctity of places of worship and the freedom to perform religious rites, ceremonies, and gatherings in accordance with the customs prevailing in the country.
The images of the seized items released by the Interior Ministry were shocking, as there were no weapons that would prove the lies of the terrorist project. All that was displayed were religious, ideological and political books, cash in national currency, a civilian binoculars, mobile phones and iPads. One of the books even had the title Islamic and Left Movement.
Targeting identity and existence
There is a common understanding among the Bahrainis, the original and rooted Shiites of Bahrain, that everything that is happening today is done with the aim of destroying or eliminating their identity and existence. They have no other interpretation for this situation; an unprecedented war of purification, which is directly targeting them.
Some of them raise a series of questions in the face of this complex scene:
Will any cleric be spared from prosecution and imprisonment in this new situation?
Will the arrests automatically include every Shiite citizen simply because they believe in the authority of the jurist?
Will this group be punished for their religious authority and belief?
So who will be left outside the prisons? Women and children?
Ashura
In parallel with these developments, some believe that attacking a wide range of scholars undoubtedly means a more critical and deepening of the domestic scene. The elimination and isolation of this movement at such a juncture is aimed at silencing any voice that might criticize the policies of the government, which is sinking deeper and deeper into the American swamp and is drowning to the point of intoxication in the Israeli project of the region. Also, the purpose of excluding the scholars is stated to be to punish them for their opposition to any blind support for the king’s decisions, especially during the recent war.
Finally, the internal situation in Bahrain is extremely chaotic. All signs point to a more critical future. The government is trying to create a class of Shiites in the country who have nothing to do with politics, but only eat, drink and breathe in worship; a religion devoid of the principles and beliefs of Hussein.
Therefore, it is predicted that the Ashura season will also be targeted; a pivotal occasion in Bahrain in which the lovers of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS) hold religious ceremonies with widespread participation in all regions.