Bahraini regime unable to crush people’s aspirations: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with Abdul Alim Musa, the imam of Masjid al-Islam in Washington, to discuss Bahrain’s crackdown on dissent.

A rough transcription of the interview appears below.

Press TV: Iran’s Leader has condemned the appalling situation in Bahrain, where a minority is ruling over a majority with an iron fist, creating a troubling sectarian divide and oppressing freedom and democracy. Your thought, Sir?

Musa: First of all, we see that this issue led by Saudi Arabia supported by Zionist Americanism is actually will wind up being a benefit to the Muslims. In the first place, Saudi Arabia’s policy is a policy of insanity. It is because of the recent rise and stability of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The number two fact is that this is a direct attack on Iran and on the lovers of Ahl al-Bayt.

This is not a regional phenomena. This is a global phenomena and we believe and we even know here in the West that every time that they oppress the people of Bahrain, of Qatif, whether they bomb and kill, Daesh, Boko Haram – these people – are making the world aware of the peaceful nature and the non-violent approach of the lovers of Ahl al-Bayt and they are showing Saudi Arabia from the Hajj, from every other issue, that Saudi Arabia has a policy of insanity, of bombing Yemen, of supporting and developing terrorism worldwide.

Iran now is not the number one terrorist suspect in the world. Saudi Arabia is. What we have to do is to fix our mind to use all of these tragedies as a benefit because in a way the tragedies in our recent life has served as a benefit. Iran is the most independent nation in that region today because of sanctions, boycotts, and freezing of assets, because of its resistance economy. Saudi Arabia is losing power.

Press TV: The Leader Ayatollah Khamenei also said that the brutal treatment of dissent in Bahrain will not put an end to the aspiration of the young Bahrainis that want change in that country. My question to you Sir: why is Manama has been for the last five and half years so unrelenting and unwilling to enter into some kind of reform?

Musa: Because of their cause which is serving the cause of justice. Anytime eighty percent of the people is dominated by twenty percent of an unjust leadership, the people will be unrelenting because of their love of freedom, liberty, and justice. They cannot control the people’s aspirations whether it’s in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, whether it’s in Yemen or whether it’s in Bahrain.

Remember this so-called Arab Spring is all gone everywhere else in the world, squashed, put out except in Bahrain. Bahrain continues to be unrelenting in its move towards justice and the Israelis and the United States and the Saudi Arabians are being seen as a troublemaker and starters of global fitnah (sedition).

Press TV: Washington just recently after Manama’s revoking of the Sheikh’s citizenship said that these kind of things are violations of human rights and they’re very concerned supposedly by them. Is it just more benign rhetoric coming out of Washington or could it be time that the US may actually be getting fed up with regimes with such horrible human rights records?

Musa: He is a Chiang Kai-shek. I know you wouldn’t remember it but the ruler of dictatorial China was called in the US Congress SOB. But they also said he’s our SOB; in other words he’s our dictator, he’s our puppet. This is the way they look at Bahrain. They are giving Bahrain all the protection that it can. It is the civil liberties organizations that are saying that Bahrain is a violator of human rights. The government of the United States wants to protect its Fifth Fleet that is harbored there in Bahrain.