Religious freedom violations have been occurring in Bahrain for decades. However, the intensity of such attacks greatly escalated following the pro-reform protest movement of 2011. Bahrain’s population is estimated to be between 60% and 70% Shia, 30% to 40% Sunni, and 1% to 2% other minorities. Despite Bahrain’s Shia majority, the ruling al-Khalifa family is Sunni. Religious freedom violations in Bahrain have been well documented by the United States government, including in the 2013 Annual Report from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), as well as the 2010 US Department of State (DoS) Report on International Religious Freedom, and the 2008 United States Country Report for Bahrain.

###

Continue reading here.

---