Speaking in an interview with FNA, Dr. Shehabi said, “It is clear in Bahrain that the people have totally different view with regards to normalization of relations with Israel. The Bahrainis are supporting the Palestinians and they are rejecting the occupation of Palestine. The regime is now accepting and recognizing the occupation of Palestine. That makes this regime totally opposed to the people of Bahrain, and as such it is not representative of the people of Bahrain.”
Saeed al-Shehabi is a London-based Bahraini political activist, journalist and political commentator. Dr. al-Shahabi edited the London-based Pan-Arabic weekly al-Aalam from 1983 to 1999. He writes regularly for Al-Quds and The Muslim News.
Below is the full text of the interview:
Q: Al-Khalifa warmly welcomed the Israeli foreign minister while the visit was firmly rejected, condemned and denounced by people of Bahrain. How does the regime claim to represent the nation?
A: Usually, regimes that are not elected or chosen by the people cannot claim to represent the people. You can only claim to represent the people if you are elected by them. Also, as a regime, if you have thinking and policies that the people do not want, then definitely you are not presenting their wishes and their policies and what they aspire to achieve.
It is clear in Bahrain that the people have totally different view with regards to normalization of relations with Israel. The Bahrainis are supporting the Palestinians and they are rejecting the occupation of Palestine. The regime is now accepting and recognizing the occupation of Palestine. That makes this regime totally opposed to the people of Bahrain, and as such it is not presentative of the people of Bahrain.
The people are going to the streets almost every day. There are protests and demonstrations in several places in many towns and cities. This means that the people are very angry about the regime and what it has done with relations with Israel. This means that the people and the regime and people are into two different directions; so the regime is not representing the people again.
All these factors convince us that there is total separation between the two sides and there is no agreement or acceptance between them and as such the people of Bahrain are working hard to change this regime.
Q: Bahrain’s permission to Israel to open an embassy in the capital of Manama could be normal for the signatories to the to the so called Abraham accords, but it is not the case among the Muslim Ummah. Why do you believe the regime is separating the nation against its will from the Muslim Ummah?
A: Definitely, there is a need to unite the Muslim Ummah. We have to always work to achieve this unity. We should always aspire to bring the Muslims together. We know that the dictators want to keep the people suffering from each other, but it is in the interest of humanity, in the interest of Islam, in the interest of the decency that the Muslims come together and I think generally they are together, although the regimes try to separate them, but their feelings, emotions, aspirations and hopes are the same. So, if you go to somebody in Malaysia, Indonesia, or Iran and ask them about what they feel about Israel and about the occupation of Palestine, they will give you similar answer; and if you go to Algeria, Morocco or Sudan, and ask them what do you think of the occupation of Palestine, they will give you the same answer as you get from the other countries. So, the Muslims are united in their feelings, aspirations, brotherhood and humanity.
The regimes that are not united. They think they are united, but they are not. They are greedy, oppressors, occupiers and among themselves they are not in one line. You can look at the Arab countries and you can see, for example, the Emirates whose leaders are at war with many others. They do not like, for example, the government of Qatar as they are at loggerheads with them. They want to dominate the Arab world, whereas Saudis want to dominate the situation themselves, and I believe that these dictators cannot agree on anything although they appear to be united, but in reality each of them has its own agenda. The Muslim Ummah should, through the ulama, scholars, thinkers and writers, work together more and more and get to know each other and to have more meetings, more conferences, more unifying approaches to their problem and I still believe that our Ummah is united despite what the enemies are doing.
Q: The Abraham Accords were moderated by the United States. Many experts believe the signatory countries did so to help Donald Trump’s campaign in 2020 election. Trump is gone and the US, as it was the case in Afghanistan, has proven untrustworthy. Why does not the regime learn a lesson to rely on its own people rather than the foreigners?
A: Dictators do not recognize the power of the people. Dictators think that they are strong, as they have armed forces, security services, agents, media, foreign supporters, defended by America, defended by Israel now; so they think that these sources of defense, they can stand on their own without feeling the need to become nearer to their people.
This this is the nature of dictatorship. They always overestimate their power and strength, and they do not receive their power from their people. But, they always fall; no dictatorship remains. They may remain for some time, but eventually the tide sweeps them away; because they are not acting in line with the natural law. They are defying God’s laws: people must be allowed freedom, because Allah created people free and these dictators take away that freedom. Allah created people and want them to be unified and united; the dictators do not want this to happen. Allah banned any form of dictatorship and domination by any group or any person, and that the people must decide and determined their own way of life and how they rule themselves. Dictators do not think in this way; so unfortunately, they always go around against the teachings of history and laws of nature, and this means they often fall down. How many dictators did you see fall down? From Shah, to Saddam Hussein, to Ghaddafi, to Mubarak, to Ali Abdullah Saleh, so many dictators go and the rest will follow. They cannot remain forever, they will always fall down in one way or another, because the people cannot be subjugated, subordinated or enslaved; because Allah created us all free and give us free will, and He gave us a minds and hearts, and as such Allah expects us to struggle to achieve our freedom. These decades do not understand that. At the end the people will remain, and the dictators will go.
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