The key will be whether they allow converts from Islam to attend there, as I explain below.
“Cathedral’s Consecration in Bahrain Signals Latest Advance in Religious Tolerance,” by Edward Pentin, National Catholic Register, December 17, 2021:
VATICAN CITY — The consecration of the first cathedral in the Kingdom of Bahrain marks the latest advance in religious tolerance in the tightly controlled Islamic-majority region, although the number of churches in the Arab nation continues to be few, despite a burgeoning immigrant Catholic population.
On Dec. 10, Cardinal Luis Tagle, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, consecrated the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia in Awali, in central Bahrain, describing the new church as “a living sign of God’s care for his flock.”
A day earlier, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain inaugurated the 95,000-square-foot, ark-shaped cathedral, which has a seating capacity of 2,300. The king donated the land to the Church in 2013, and the decision to build the church there was begun on Feb. 11 that year — the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Construction began in 2018.
The new cathedral is expected to be much in demand: Bahrain is home to about 80,000 Catholics, many of whom are immigrant workers from Asia, particularly the Philippines and India. But like many other countries in the Gulf, they suffer from a severe shortage of churches….
“The test of whether the Bahraini rulers are making a step forward or are just trying to make the country more attractive to foreign investment will come when we see whether or not they will allow native Bahrainis, including Muslims who are interested in Christianity, to attend,” Robert Spencer, director of the organization Jihad Watch, a group that monitors Islamic extremism, told the Register.
“A church for the expatriate Catholics from the Philippines and India is a kind gesture, but it doesn’t have any larger significance unless the native Christians and converts to the faith are allowed in,” he said….
This week, a new church was consecrated — the first in the Al Dhafra region of the UAE, about 150 miles west of Abu Dhabi. The Church of St. John the Baptist in Ruwais was built on land donated by Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and its first Mass was celebrated Dec. 17.
But will such initiatives ever extend to Saudi Arabia? One long-running question has been whether the Islamic kingdom, the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad that officially bars Christianity from being practiced anywhere on its territory (Catholic liturgies take place in secret), will eventually relax its restrictions to allow at least one church to be built in the country.
Spencer was more pessimistic about progress when it comes to the Saudi kingdom.
“It is extraordinarily unlikely that there will ever be a church built in Saudi Arabia, as there is a tradition in which Islam’s prophet Muhammad is depicted as saying that he will expel all the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula,” he said.
“The Saudi regime takes this very seriously; it is the root of their refusal to allow any non-Muslim religious observance. It is unlikely that the Saudis would ever contravene the prohibition attributed to Muhammad, as they would likely be overthrown if they did.”…
Jim says
Well that is better than the way Turkey treats Christians in Cyprus or Turkey itself. They turned the most important Orthodox church into a mosque recently. They make it hard for Christians to build churches. But of course, if only foreigners were allowed to go there, it would not say so much about religious liberty.
Maryam says
Thank you for the article. However, questioning the intention is nothing to speak of as many catholics will be able to utilize it and practice their own faith. Coupled with that, it is rather unethical to support your hypothesis by false citation as never and no valid reference provides that the Prophet (PBUH) encouraged expelling jews and christians, quite to the contrary, he stressed treating them in a fair and kind manner in accordance with the words of God conveyed in the holy book “Allah forbids you not, with regard to those who fight you not for (your) Faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them: for Allah loveth those who are just” (the Quran: 60:08), and many other verses and Hadith’s conveying and stressing on the same.
gravenimage says
Maryam wrote:
Thank you for the article. However, questioning the intention is nothing to speak of as many catholics will be able to utilize it and practice their own faith.
……………….
And if they are apostates from Islam? Somehow the fate of those who dare leave Islam is “nothing to speak of”. *Ugh*.
More:
Coupled with that, it is rather unethical to support your hypothesis by false citation as never and no valid reference provides that the Prophet (PBUH) encouraged expelling jews and christians, quite to the contrary, he stressed treating them in a fair and kind manner in accordance with the words of God conveyed in the holy book “Allah forbids you not, with regard to those who fight you not for (your) Faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them: for Allah loveth those who are just” (the Quran: 60:08), and many other verses and Hadith’s conveying and stressing on the same.
……………….
What utter tripe. Here is the Hadith of Abu ‘Ubaydah, who said that the last words that the “Prophet” Muhammed spoke were, “Expel the Jews of the Hijaaz and Najraan from the Arabian Peninsula, and know that they are most evil of people who took the graves of their Prophets as places of worship.”
This is what Robert Spencer was referring to of course. Note that there are *no* legal Churches in Saudi Arabia. Do you suppose that we have not noticed this?
As for Qur’an 60:08, this is not a reference to Christians or Jews but to relations with Arabian pagans. The following suras make it clear that this is about female converts to Islam and what relations with their still pagan relatives are allowable.
Then, note that in Islam such things as wife beating and slaughtering Infidels are considered “just”, so citing a passage calling for “just” teatment of any Infidels is scarcely honest.
Wellington says
Excellent retort, gravenimage. You know, Islam can make headway as something tolerant but only with those who are ignorant of Islam’s real intentions, one of them being that all non-Muslims are NOT treated equally with Muslims, protestations and assertions to the contrary notwithstanding.
You called this deceptive turkey out and thus good for you. Muslims aplenty need to be called out whenever they spew their lies and deceits, including the massive lie and deceit that Islam is tolerant. Yeah, but only if you bow to Islam’s superiority and then it is still “problematical” and accompanied by many conditions. What rot.
gravenimage says
Thank you, Wellington–agreed.
Hoi Polloi says
Thanks, GI.
Wellington says
Maryam: Won’t make any advances in the cause of Islam at JW because too many people here at this site know of Islam’s many barbarities (e.g., death for apostasy per Sura 4:89 and the sanctioning of the rape of non-Muslim women per Suras 4, 23, 33 and 70—“captives of the right hand” and all that rot) and of the true Islamic treatment of non-Muslims in Muslim lands.
Muslims come here to the West and can practice their faith, build their houses of worship and recruit new believers—and yet in full and complete victim-mode still think of themselves as the persecuted ones, even to the extent of using the bogus term, “Islamophobia,” which is used by tyrants, liars and the ignorant to shut up any criticism of Islam, even though Islam deserves a heap of criticism, for instance 40,000 documented Islamic terrorist attacks worldwide just since 9/11. Ah, but it’s always “poor me” with Muzzies—beyond pathetic and utterly sickening.
Get lost .You’re out of your league here at JW with the vast majority of regular commenters. Go work your deceptions and pity-parties somewhere else. And know full well there is no Allah, the Koran is a hate manual and Mohammed, fictional or real, conveys a psychopathic, narcissistic, barbaric, self-serving personality if ever there were one. Done here.
gravenimage says
+1
Michael Copeland says
“There are lots of churches in Saudi Arabia!”,
protested the Leader of Worcester City Council, UK, when encountering a protest against the proposed mosque in Worcester.
How wrong can you be?
His view is probably shared by millions who do not know the true picture, and operate on assumptions.
So many people are not aware of the reality.
https://gatesofvienna.net/2019/02/mosques-learning-curve-needed/
gravenimage says
What a fool. Thank you for that link, Michael.
Hoi Polloi says
Thanks. Informative.
gravenimage says
Bahrain’s new cathedral: an advance in tolerance or an attempt to attract foreign investment?
The key will be whether they allow converts from Islam to attend there…
……………………
This is true. And relious freedom in Bahrain is iffy at best. No criticism of Islam is allowed. The nation’s only Synagogue has been inoperational for sixty years. Holding any religiuous meeting without a government permit is illegal. The Baha’i have never been granted a licence there.
Bahrain also oppresses minority Shia Muslims, including demolishing Mosques in the middle of the night.
It is illegal to try and convert a Muslim to any other faith. And Apostates are presecuted there.
I suppose allowing any Christians to construct a new Church is considered “moderate” by the appalling standards of Dar-al-Islam, though. Low standards, indeed…
Infidel says
Graven
Shi’a are the majority in Bahrein, and the kingdom is one of 3 Wahabi countries worldwide, aside from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. I wonder how Wahabi Saudi Arabia still is, given what they’ve been doing the last 4 years, but Qatar is still as bad as ever
What I find interesting is whether the Hanafas will allow Christians and Jews in an attempt to dilute the shi’a population, the same way they have been doing for sunni expats from places like Bangladesh. Also, I wonder whether Bahrein will allow shi’a to be converted, but not sunni, defining only the latter as islamic. It’s a very curious case study indeed
gravenimage says
True, Infidel–but the ruling royal family is Sunni.
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
“the 95,000-square-foot, ark-shaped cathedral, which has a seating capacity of 2,300”
What is the shape of an ark (e.g., must it have multiple decks?), and how do we know? The floorspace per ark visitor is 95,000/2300 = 4.13 square feet, which is equivalent to a 2-foot-by-2-foot area. How does this compare with the seating capacity of the original ark?
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
Correction: 95,000/2,300 = 6.43 sq ft = 2.54 ft x 2.54 ft.
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
D’oh! Second correction: 95,000 sq ft / 2,300 seats = 41.3 sq ft/seat = 6.43 ft by 6.43 ft per congregant. So plenty if sitting space, with ample aisles.
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
D’oh! Second correction: 95,000 sq ft / 2,300 seats = 41.3 sq ft/seat = 6.43 ft by 6.43 ft per congregant. So plenty if sitting space, with ample aisles.
James Lincoln says
According to Pew Research, the muslim population of Bahrain in 2021 was approximately 74%.
I spent some time there with the US Navy in the mid-1990s and, at the time, the muslims there were fairly moderate. Did some shopping in Manama without any issues. Alcohol flowed freely. And they practiced a very much weaker version of sharia law then neighboring Saudi Arabia.
Does anyone know what it’s like there now?
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/muslim-population-by-country