Two men facing imminent execution in Bahrain

The Bahraini authorities must urgently halt the imminent execution of two men who were convicted after a grossly unfair mass trial after they were tortured to confess, said Amnesty International today. The organization has reason to believe that Ali Mohamed al-Arab and Ahmed Issa al-Malali, who were convicted of a series of offences including “forming and joining a terrorist group”, could be executed within 24 hours.

Tension in the Gulf: Not just maritime powder kegs

Speaking to Riyadh Daily, the English language sister of one of Saudi Arabia’s foremost newspapers, Al Riyadh, Mr. Baloch’s legitimization in the kingdom’s tightly controlled media constituted one more suggestion that Saudi Arabia may be tacitly supporting militants in Balochistan, a troubled Pakistani province that borders on Iran and is a crown jewel of China’s infrastructure and energy-driven Belt and Road initiative.

Bahrain’s Rulers Last Chance to Save Their Country

AT THE height of Bahrain’s riots and protests in 2011 and 2012, some, including certain figures in the U.S. government, argued that Bahrain’s royal family had to give way to the protesters’ demands or be swept away by the tides of history. They were wrong.

Muslim Pilgrimage in the Modern World | Babak Rahimi | University of North Carolina Press

Pilgrimage is one of the most significant ritual duties for Muslims, entailing the visitation and veneration of sites associated with the Prophet Muhammad or saintly figures. As demonstrated in this multidisciplinary volume, the lived religion of pilgrimage, defined by embodied devotional practices, is changing in an age characterized by commerce, technology, and new sociocultural and political frameworks.

17th Annual UMAA Conference

UMAA2019 will take place at Tysons Corner Sheraton in Tysons, Virginia from July 5th-July 8th. Room Information Rooms can be booked directly with the Tyson’s Sheraton at (703) 448-1234 under the UMAA room block. $99/night including Breakfast Saturday and Sunday morning.

Dr. Hossein Kamaly to Fill Imam Ali Chair for Shi’i Studies | Hartford Seminary

President Joel N. Lohr and Hartford Seminary are pleased to announce that, as of July 1, Dr. Hossein Kamaly will hold the Imam Ali Chair for Shi’i Studies and Dialogue among Islamic Legal Schools. He will also be Associate Professor of Islamic Studies.

Untold Stories, The Suffering of Shia Muslims – Shia Rights Watch

Annual report of Anti-Shiism around the Globe This report reflects investigative work Shia Rights Watch staff undertook in 2018 Shia Rights Watch 2018 Annual Report_2 Size: 1.37 mb Format : PDF Preview Introduction Parallel to the rise of coverage of the Shia identity came to an increased need for recognition for the dynamics of …

NCHR Occasional Paper Series #11 2019 – Norwegian Centre for Human Rights

This paper, Blurring the Line between Countering Terrorism and Countering Dissent: The Case of Saudi Arabia, is written by Dr Norman Cigar, a Research Fellow at the Marine Corps University, Quantico, VA, from which he retired recently as Director of Regional Studies and the Minerva Research Chair.

See also: Foreign Policy
Los Angeles Times

US State Department 2018 Report on Human Rights is ‘All Words and No Action’ when it Comes to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia – Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain

On 13 March 2019, the United States (US) Department of State released its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2018. Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) is deeply concerned that, while the report continues to detail a range of US human rights concerns in Bahrain and …

For ADHRB Weekly 291, click here.

Bahrain sentences 167 people to prison in crackdown on dissent

A Bahraini court sentenced 167 people arrested at a sit-in outside the home of Bahrain’s leading Shi’ite Muslim cleric in 2017 to between six months and 10 years in prison at a trial in late February, court documents and lawyers said.