Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): We are not racists, but we are also not angels too to bear all of this persecution as if we are no one. It's as if we have no voice or word and are a crushed minority that has no right to defend itself or clap back at those who insult it.

Who are we? We are Bahrain's Mirror and the mirror of the land that became civilized decades before the 1783 conquest, accepted the wave of immigrations, and reacted with them until they became a part of its fabric. We are the people who dream of a noble and democratic life that preserves the components of the cultural fabric, equality, freedom and sovereignty. We are against the authority that wants to weaken the components of this fabric, humiliate or replace its names and origins and feel ashamed of it. We are against a family's monopoly of power. We are against the discrimination it practices to deprive those who do not comply with is orders of their rights and opportunities in the community.

We are not bigots, but we throw stones back at who hurled them at us. We know that the stones come from a family that wants to dominate everything and employ corruptors in order to ruin the nation's fabric and its components. Our slogan since 2011 has been, "We're Brothers, Sunnis and Shiites". We have endured everything for the sake of this slogan. We have endured the repression and sectarianism and betrayal of "our brothers in this nation" and from "our opponents" to preserve a brotherly approach that calls for unity and rejects hatred. We were keen on not making the religious sects and races pay the price of the political conflict. We have maintained a balanced and unified discourse on national and constant stability throughout these years. We have distanced ourselves from all the hate speeches and its swords that have been raised against us. We have endured everything and kept our eye on the nation only.

We are not bigots, but we live under the weight of an abhorrent bigot regime, that disparages and marginalizes us as well as treat us like last class citizens, a regime that strikes our existence and targets our origins, honor, and religion and questions our patriotism and loyalty to our land. The regime used the lowest of people and everyone it could to do its dirty work, placing them in the media and mosques, welcoming them in its special councils and appointing them as columnists in newspapers that promote sedition, media reporters in television channels of incitement, or hate speech counselors.

Showing contempt against the Shia sect reached to the extent that foreigners have now become disrespectful towards them and started to learn the attitude of the regime and its people and follow suit. An Egyptian advisor dared to insult the Shia sect and threaten one of people attending an economic conference with him: "I know you are Shiite, a spy for Iran. I will tell you who your father is, you sons of (...)." However, the judiciary chose to confirm that this is the country's way, thus acquitted him of charges of publicly targeting the Shia sect, under the sponsorship of his master BCCI president, Samir Nass.

This is not something new. Tariq Al-Amer, a naturalized citizen who writes for Al-Bilad newspaper and who has mocked Shiites and insulted their twelfth Imam as well as a doctrine adopted by the majority of people in Bahrain, has already been acquitted. This is also the case of Bahraini army spokesperson Khalid Al-Buainain who insulted Shiites on his Twitter page. Besides, writer Hafez Al-Sheikh who described Shiite citizens as "the Shiite diaspora in Bahrain" and said that their doctrine is a "myth" was also acquitted, in addition to those hired by the authorities such as, Abdulatif Al-Mahmoud, Al-Saidi, Mohammad Khalid, Flaifel and others to promote and reiterate the "Rafidi"  and "Sons of Muta'a" slurs and insulting discourse, turning Takfir into a doctrine and the act of accusing of treason into patriotism. Today comes this ugly regime that lacks humanity and ethics to demand our deportation from our grandfathers' land.

We have endured all of this humiliation throughout the years to protect the country from sedition and not reach the low level they've stooped to. However, those unethical people think that we are not responding to them because we are weak, which made everyone who wants to attract the attention of the regime start targeting and insulting us. They know that this is the shortest way to reach the authorities' satisfaction, funds and posts. Now, it has become necessary to throw back the stone when directed at us.

We are not bigots, nor are we angels to bear all this persecution without doing anything in return. We have the right to respond to anyone who insults us, yet we don't respond to them in a similar fashion. We remind them of our origin that they want to hide and of their origin that they deny and feel ashamed to recognize. We haven't issued any discourse or word throughout the past years insulting people of a sect, sex or race. And today, it's not in our ethics and morals to respond to them in corrupt ways similar to theirs.

Arabic Version