Police summon woman who smashed idols

TDT | Manama

A Bahraini woman might be facing a punishment of at least six months in jail if found guilty of disrespecting a religion—an act that is criminalised by the Kingdom’s Penal Code. This comes as the woman recently smashed religious statues inside of a shop in Juffair.

The 54-year-old was seen in video footage, along with another woman, yelling at the shopkeeper and breaking several religious idols by throwing them on the floor. “Hey you. Come here. What is this?” one of the veiled women was heard saying in the video while questioning the shopkeeper.

The other woman can be also heard saying: “This is a Muslim country, right? Why are you selling this here?” Both women continued yelling at the shopkeeper, who replied to them saying: “I am Muslim too,” before he walked away. The footage also showed one of the women emptying the shelves by throwing all of the statues on the floor.

“Let us see who worships idols here? I want the police,” the woman said. Yesterday, a few hours after the video was widely circulated online, the Interior Ministry commented in a tweet: “Capital Police took legal steps against a woman, 54, for damaging a shop in Juffair and defaming a sect and its rituals, in order to refer her to the Public Prosecution.”

The video sparked public outrage online, as it is against the Kingdom’s approach of respecting faiths, tolerance, and promoting peace and co-existence. Thousands of netizens in Bahrain and abroad condemned the woman’s “radical behaviour” and commended security authorities for swiftly responding to the matter and taking legal action against the woman.

‘Not one of us!’ His Majesty the King’s Diplomatic Affairs Advisor Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa condemned the women’s behaviour and commented that whoever commits such acts isn’t a Bahraini. The former Minister of Foreign Affairs tweeted: “Smashing religious symbols is not the behaviour of the people of Bahrain.

It is a crime that expresses an alien and rejected hatred. Here, all religions, sects and people coexisted and whoever did this is a stranger and is not one of us.” Interrogated Meanwhile, the Public Prosecution confirmed in a statement posted on its official social media channels that it has interrogated the woman and is completing the necessary procedures to refer the case to the concerned court.

Quoting Capital Governorate Chief Prosecutor Mohammed Salah, the statement read: “The Public Prosecution has received a report from Nabih Saleh Police Station, informing that a woman has broken statues at a shop in Juffair area. “The Public Prosecution immediately began interrogating the accused and confronted her with the testimonies of witnesses and the footage.

“She admitted that she had smashed these figures, so she was charged with intentional destruction and publicly insulting a sect and a symbol that is glorified by the people of a religion. Preparations are being taken to refer the case to the concerned court,” Salah added.