Bahrain king urges media to be more responsible

Manama: Bahrain's King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa has called for higher levels of national discourse for the sake of a united nation, urging Bahrainis to emulate the initiative of the Bahrain Journalists Association to shun the publication of material that could potentially harm national unity.

Bahrain has recently witnessed a bitter standoff between religious leaders and political societies, fuelled by the publication of their fiery statements.

King Hamad on Thursday said that the public altercation should be ended for the sake of the country.

"We have always held our religious scholars, regardless of their schools, in high esteem. These scholars have always been united in spreading compassion and consideration within the nation. We look forward to seeing this constellation of religious leaders remain as a great asset and a sound reference for good words to solidify national unity," King Hamad said at a meeting with senior officials.

The standoff was sparked by an unprecedented attack by Jassem Al Saeedi, a Sunni MP and imam in a mosque in Eisa Town, on Shaikh Eisa Qassem, a venerated Shiite leader and spiritual leader of Al Wefaq Society, for what he termed "a Friday sermon that incited to hatred and divisions within the nation and reflected huge ignorance".

Al Saeedi, who for the last two years has had several verbal altercations with Al Wefaq, the Shiite bloc in the Lower House, and his supporters came under fire from the Shiites, who on Thursday organised a two-hour rally to show support for Shaikh Eisa Qassem and "to put an end to the voices of sectarianism".

King Hamad's remarks came as a new drive to defuse the tension between the two camps, which was partly blamed on local newspapers that exacerbated the situation.

"I call upon all parties to verify the credibility and veracity of the information before it is published or disseminated. I commend the journalists' code of honour not to publish anything that might harm national unity or a sector of the society," King Hamad said.

On May 3 the Bahrain Journalists Association began an initiative to shun sectarianism in the media, and more than 200 journalists signed the petition.

Gulf News last week published a report on how the Bahrain media is plagued by sectarianism, prompting calls for "collective and responsible" action to tackle the situation.