Manama: King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa has praised expatriates in Bahrain, saying that they played an effective role in the building and progress of the country. Expatriates make up slightly more than 50 per cent of the 1.4 million people who live in Bahrain, mostly South Asians working in the construction and service sectors.
Information Minister Ali Bin Mohammad Al Romaihi said that Bahrain is a model of tolerance, peaceful coexistence and mutual respect among all components of society.
He said Bahrain’s value for human dignity of all people is seen through the enactment of legislation that ensures equal rights, the minister added in a statement.
“Tolerance and mutual acceptance are a prerequisite for security, stability, comprehensive and sustainable development and human welfare,” the minister said, adding that he viewed expatriates as “partners” in the nation-building process.
Although the kingdom is overwhelmingly Muslim, it has 19 officially registered churches, a handful of Hindu temples, as well as a synagogue. The National Evangelical Church in 1906 became the first church to offer services in Bahrain.
Roman Catholics have two churches, the Sacred Heart Church in Manama, and the Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Visitation in Awali, a former oil town in central Bahrain.
The Sacred Heart, built in 1940, serves around 140,000 people, mainly Indians, Filipinos, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans.
Bahraini Christians and Jews have been regularly represented in the Shura Council, the upper chamber of the bicameral parliament, since 2002 when constitutional life was reinvigorated following a three-decade hiatus.
