Arab media today focused on His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s opinion piece published in the "Washington Times".

In his opinion piece, HM the King asserted that Bahrain was role model for co-existence and tolerance among "all faiths, all cultures and all ethnicities."
HM King Hamad described the existing religious and cultural diversity, spearheaded by old Bahraini leaders and still continue, as a distinctive feature of the Bahraini people, as well as the kingdom’s source of strength and pride, and a blessing to all social components and distinguished social fabric.

"al-arabiya.net" posted an article under the headline " King of Bahrain calls for religious tolerance and peaceful co-existence" that quoted HM the King as saying: "As Bahrainis, we drew from our national heritage as a beacon of religious tolerance in the Arab world."

The website highlighted the King’s assertion the need to "protect our religious pluralism for future generations, so we have enshrined this in law, which guarantees everyone the right to worship unhindered in safety and to build their houses of worship."

It also emphasised the Bahraini society’s strength and diversity, noting that HM the King stressed the importance of diversity in enhancing security, stability and prosperity all over the world provided that "we learn to recognize the beauty of these differences and how they can teach us many lessons, including the lesson of religious tolerance."

Bahraini daily "Al-Ayyam" said that HM King Hamad had affirmed the tolerant nature of the Bahraini society.

"In the Kingdom of Bahrain, for centuries we have grown up with neighbors of all faiths, all cultures and all ethnicities, so we are happy and comfortable living in a multicultural, multi-faith society," the newspaper quoted HM the King as saying.

The newspaper also highlighted HM the King’s reference to the "Bahraini tradition of churches, synagogues and temples being built next to our mosques, so there is no ignorance about others’ religious rites or practices. We all live together in peaceful coexistence in the spirit of mutual respect and love."

"Al-Ayyam" pointed out that HM King Hamad, through his opinion piece, wanted to share the Bahraini experience with the world, being a model of peaceful co-existence and religious tolerance, quoting the King as saying: "ignorance is the enemy of peace," and that true faith illuminates our path to peace. For this reason, we decided to compose the Kingdom of Bahrain Declaration, calling for religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence throughout the entire world."

Erem News website highlighted HM the King’s assertion, in his opinion piece, on the importance of combating terrorism through religious tolerance and peaceful co-existence among the followers of all religions and sects.

"Evil can only be eradicated by the power of true faith and love," HM the King said.

"Religious freedom should not be viewed as a problem but rather a very real solution to many of our world’s biggest challenges and especially terrorism, which knows no religion and threatens all peace-loving people," the website also quoted HM the King.

"Elaph" website reported that HM King Hamad had said that the Kingdom of Bahrain Declaration called for "religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence throughout the entire world" and that the document was not surprising to "hundreds of millions of peace-loving Muslims around the world."

"We composed the declaration in consultation with Sunni and Shiite scholars, along with Christian clergy and Jewish rabbis," the website also quoted HM the King as saying in his opinion piece.

It also stressed that HM the King had shed light on the role played by all social components when he said that "our Jewish community plays a very active role at the highest levels of society, including an ambassador from Bahrain to Washington in 2008."

"Elaph" also underlined HM the King’s belief in the need to foster faith and true love to eliminate terrorism.

"We firmly believe this evil can only be eradicated by the power of true faith and love, and this is what compelled us to write the Kingdom of Bahrain Declaration as a serious document calling for pluralism, which ‘unequivocally rejects’ compelled religious observance, and condemns acts of violence, abuse and incitement in the name of religion," the website said, quoting HM the King.

Many other websites and e-newspapers focused on HM the King’s assertion that "religion has been too frequently used throughout the world as a divine sanction to spread hate and dissension. Yet in Bahrain, religious diversity is a blessing to our people.

They also reported that HM the King affirmed that the "declaration makes it clear that ‘it is the responsibility of governments to respect and protect equally both religious minorities and majorities,’ and that there is no room for religious discrimination of any kind."

Source: BNA