Sunnis, Shiites Hold Joint Prayers in Bahrain

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Dozens of Shiites and Sunnis prayed side by side Friday in a mosque near the capital of Bahrain, a country hit since 2011 by Shiite-led protests against its Sunni rulers.

Residents said tight security was in place for the special session of weekly prayers in a mosque at Diraz, a Shiite village west of Manama.

The interior ministry ordered a strong police presence following deadly bombings at Shiite mosques in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait carried out by Sunni extremists over the past two months.

The joint prayers were a show of Bahraini "unity in the face of those plotting against the Arab and Islamic world", said Justice and Islamic Affairs Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ali Al-Khalifa.

Bahraini authorities, backed by volunteers, have stepped up checks on those entering mosques for Friday prayers in the wake of the attacks elsewhere in the Gulf.

Bahrain is the only Arab monarchy of the Gulf with a Shiite majority, which has been demanding political reforms.

Comments 3
Missing ArabDemocrat.com over 8 years

The Arabs should unite and throw off the yoke of foreign intervention - whether American or Iranian.

Thumb fadi_albeiruti over 8 years

What a hypocrite you are bigjohn, the king of Bahrain is a tyrant? Since the protest started 3 years ago the number of people killed in Bahrain can be counted on 1 hand and half of those are police officers, no barrel bombs, rockets, tanks and or Migs, on the other hand you support a minority butcher tyrant son of a butcher tyrant that have killed people by the hundred of thousands and not just in Syria but in my beloved Lebanon by using barrel bombs tanks, chemical weapons and used Afghani, Iraqi, Iranian, Yemeni and Lebanese mercenaries , but then again you are 2awme soure used to living with a boot down your throat, since you love Syria and its butcher so much why don't you pack your shit and move there or better yet move to Iran, Lebanon WILL NEVER EVER BE PART OF SYRIA as long as there is God fearing freedom loving Lebanese, by the way, take the Palestinians and all the Syrian refugees with you.

Default-user-icon fadi_albaghdadi (Guest) over 8 years

we get it, sunni tyrants are ok, other tyrants are bad. check how many peaceful protesters are jailed and tortured in bahrain before you make stupid comments like that. there is not 1 shia official in the wahhabi govt of bahrain even though shias are the majority. perfect example of sectarian policy. but of course you will never admit this.