Three members of Al-Tajdeed (which means renewal), a Bahraini religious and cultural society that supports an open discourse on Islamic topics, have received prison sentences. Jalal al-Qassab, Redha Rajab and Mohammed Rajab were fined and sentenced to one year in prison each for ‘violating the foundations of Islam.’ However, the sentence is suspended pending an appeal.
Al-Tajdeed has questioned Islamic legal theory and clerics’ interpretations of the law in several videos released on YouTube. They were charged under a provision that forbids ridiculing any of Bahrain’s recognized religious texts, such as the Bible and the Quran.
According to the organisation, the incident encouraged violence against its members. Human rights organisations argued that the guys were persecuted because they exercised their right to free speech and religion.
The members of the group are Shia Muslims. Although Bahrain’s royal family is Sunni Muslim, the majority of the country’s population follows Shia Islam. However, prominent Shia clerics have condemned the group’s activities as blasphemy and demanded that its members be ostracised.
The prosecution claimed that the case had been brought ‘in defence of our righteous religion’ and to ‘prevent sedition within society’ when it filed a lawsuit against the outfit. It demanded the harshest penalty allowed by Bahraini law.
Due to their ‘deliberately undermining the fundamentals of the Islamic religion on which all Muslims and sects agree,’ the persecution submitted the three defendants to a criminal court last month. They alleged the institution made blog posts and YouTube videos ‘about the lives of the messengers and prophets, which included a denial of what was mentioned in the Quran (the Islamic holy book) regarding them and a mockery of what was mentioned.’
Al-Tajdeed responded, “Thoughts are to be challenged with thoughts, and words are not to be suppressed by the authority of the law,” in the court. The group has referred to the court case as ‘malicious’ and contended that all it had been doing was ‘exercising its natural and legal right to conduct research, engage in analysis, study, and enlighten.’
The group’s detractors remark that the group, which promotes an open dialogue about religion, undermines the tenets of Islam and dismisses reported miracles as urban legends. The former have engaged in an incitement campaign against the latter.
Al-Tajdeed emphasises that they challenge the viewpoints of religious academics and contemporary clerics rather than contest the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad or the Quran.
The court case, as per the group, has intensified a current campaign that advocates verbal and physical violence against its members in mosques and on social media. Human Rights Watch has asserted that the charges be withdrawn and an end to incendiary public statements decrying the society on religious grounds during the trial.
In the Gulf, Bahrain has developed a reputation for being welcoming of religious plurality and tolerance. In 2021, it opened ‘Our Lady of Arabia Cathedral,’ the biggest cathedral in the region. The sole Jewish community in the Gulf is also located there.
Although, human rights agencies have long critiqued the country’s record for discriminating against its mainly Shia population. The main Shia opposition party, Al Wefaq is still prohibited from partaking in elections, despite the government’s denials.
