Human Rights According to the US

Many countries should not be bothered by the contents of the Human Rights Report published each year by the U.S. Department of Foreign Affairs. The report is not an accurate representation of the condition of human rights around the world. The U.S has appointed itself as the world's judge, monitoring others while forgetting itself out of clear ignorance. It is the perfect example of our local saying: “You teach others, but you forget yourself, you idiot.” This report is nothing more than an expression of America's political ambition. Indubitably, it is prepared in such a way so as to serve U.S. interests while frightening those who believe in the importance of its contents.

Perhaps we do not need to criticize the reports on many of the countries cited in it. What is important for us is what it says regarding our [Bahrain], which we know better than the Americans. If we take a look at the whole report on Bahrain, there should be sufficient proof for other countries that the contents are simply far-fetched and evidence that the U.S. fabricates lies about other countries.

The report talks about the lack of religious freedom in the kingdom of Bahrain, as well as a kind of discrimination that the state practices against its people. This suggests that the author of the report either relies on hearsay rather than facts or deliberately ignores the truth and tells the opposite of what is happening. There is complete freedom of religious practice in the kingdom. Worshippers from any religion are allowed to practice their rituals without any hindrance at any time. They are not prevented from constructing their places of worship such as temples, churches and mosques. This is the opposite of what happens in some other countries, in which governments officially claim to offer this freedom but contradict it in practice. The minaret incident in Switzerland is still on the minds of those who follow these issues. This incident concerned the legal struggle over constructing minarets, which Muslims were barred from erecting for reasons that have nothing to do with freedom or religious practice. A huge body of evidence was produced and argued over, simply to prevent the Muslims there from constructing minarets.

The same applies to the U.S., a country that sets countless conditions and contingencies when the issue has to do with Islam. Officials explain that these are the result of various differing state laws, as if the federal government cannot be held accountable for states’ decisions.

As for discrimination, it is the last issue the U.S. has the right to discuss with others. The U.S. has discriminated and still discriminates against citizens of Arab or Muslim descent. In some cases, it is to the point that they are not allowed to go to certain places just because of their origins, or else because they have grown beards as a form of religious expression. Being a Muslim or an Arab has now become tantamount to a crime that strips people of their public rights.

In the U.S., Islam is subject to much targeted suffering. Paradoxically, its followers represent the largest minority group, while Islam itself is growing faster than any other religion in America. Muslims are also the victims of biased treatment, a fact that the government tries to conceal. George W. Bush authorized the massacre of Muslims everywhere, yet would invite a few Muslims during [the fasting month of] Ramadan and on religious festivals, giving speech after speech that contradicted his actions.

This is the country whose institutions are the most discriminatory against Muslims and Arabs, not even considering its treatment of them and others abroad. The events of the last decade are fresh in our minds. We still remember the abuses committed by the U.S. in Iraq and Afghanistan. Moreover, what happened in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo are still online on Youtube and other social networks. Yet the U.S. still has the nerve to tell us that Bahrain practices discrimination and suppresses religious freedom, as if people cannot read or understand.