Visit of the Pope of the Vatican – Bahrain rejects “slander” Al-Jazeera channel
Bahrain has “categorically rejected” the “fabrications” and “abuses” reported by Qatar’s Al-Jazeera TV channel on the Vatican Pope’s visit to the kingdom.
This is the second Bahraini criticism of smear campaigns launched by Al-Jazeera channel against it within a week.
The National Contact Center in Bahrain said in a statement Friday that it “categorically rejects the coverage by Qatar’s Al-Jazeera TV of the visit of Pope Francis to the kingdom.”
“They do not abide by the standards of professionalism and objectivity in the media,” he said.
The channel “broadcast misleading and totally inaccurate media content about the humanitarian content of the historic visit, which affirmed respect for the principles of human rights and religious and labor freedoms, and praised the Kingdom of Bahrain’s successful efforts in consolidating the values of co-existence, peace and human brotherhood”, he said.
The Center held the authorities in Qatar “responsible for the fabrications and misleading allegations broadcast by the Qatari channel Al-Jazeera that are not in line with the lofty goals of the Gulf Cooperation Council and contain totally unacceptable abuses.”
Welcome and hospitality
Pope Francis arrived in Bahrain on Thursday for a four-day historic visit, the first of its kind to the kingdom.
King Hamad of Bahrain was at the forefront of the Vatican pope’s arrival at the airport.
The Pope’s motorcade departed for the Palace of the Rock, accompanied by a phalanx of cavalry. A group of children scattered flowers, and groups performed in celebration of the Pope’s holiness.
Before the King of Bahrain received the Pope again, at the Palace of Sakhir, where the Pope had an official welcoming ceremony. During the ceremony, the musical band played the national anthem of the Holy See and the Bahraini royal peace.
Pope’s word
The Pope addressed the reception held at the Palace of the Sakhir.
Al-Jazeera alleged that in his speech, the Pope called on the Bahraini authorities to ensure that basic human rights are not violated.
The Pope thanked the Bahraini king for inviting him to visit Bahrain and praised Bahrain’s efforts in promoting co-existence, saying, “This country excels in the diversity of its ethnicities and cultures, and in living together in peace.”
He expressed his appreciation for the international conferences and the opportunities for meeting organized and promoted by the Kingdom, especially with a focus on respect, tolerance and religious freedom.
“These are fundamental subjects approved by the country’s Constitution, which states that “there must be no discrimination on the basis of sex, origin, language, religion or belief”, that “freedom of conscience is absolute” and that “the State shall preserve the inviolability of worship”.
These are obligations that must be constantly translated into action, so that religious freedom becomes complete and not limited to freedom of worship, until every group and every person is recognized with equal dignity and equal opportunities; They are not discriminatory and do not violate basic human rights, but are promoted. I think above all of the right to life, and the need to guarantee it always, even when imposing sanctions on some, even those whose lives cannot be destroyed.
Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa praised Pope Francis Pope Francis, who delivered a speech in which he addressed human rights and religious and labor freedoms.
He stressed that the Kingdom of Bahrain, in accordance with its principles, is keen to assert and maintain human rights and to abide by them in order to establish frameworks for their maintenance and to raise awareness of human rights in culture and thought.
Second criticism in days
This is not the first crisis of its kind between Bahrain and Al-Jazeera recently. Manama has repeatedly denounced what it described as an ongoing hostile, inciting campaign carried out by the Qatari Al-Jazeera channel against it.
On October 27th, the Ministry of Interior in Bahrain criticized the smear and incitement campaigns against the Kingdom of Bahrain and its people through the Qatari Al-Jazeera Channel, noting that they are conducted within a systematic framework and lack professionalism and media credibility.
“It is not true at all that al-Jazeera reported on its website that the perpetrator of the attack on a religious site in the city of Shiraz in Iran is a Bahraini national,” it said.
Historic meeting
Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayeb and Pope Francis Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Bahrain on Thursday for a historic visit that crowned Bahrain’s efforts and leadership in promoting human fraternity.
Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb and Pope Francis are participating Friday in a number of inspiring events during the visit, promoting a culture of tolerance and co-existence and supporting a culture of dialog and acceptance of the other.
The most prominent of these events was the conclusion of the Bahrain Dialog Forum, which kicked off on Thursday under the title “East and West for Human Co-existence”, under the auspices of Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, in a new initiative led by the Kingdom of Bahrain to achieve rapprochement between East and West, to promote co-existence between religions and cultures, and to reject division, intolerance and hatred.
The two top religious leaders will also participate in a direct Islamic-Christian dialog between the members of the Council of Muslim Elders and senior clerics of the Catholic Church, which will be held during the 16th meeting of the Council of Muslim Elders, hosted by Bahrain, on Friday. The meeting will discuss the leaders of religions in facing the challenges of the age and the crises facing humanity.
The meeting, which brings together the two major religious leaders, is the second meeting between them in a Gulf state, following their historic meeting in the UAE in February 2019, during which the “Document of Human Brotherhood” was signed under the patronage of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE.
