Bahrain Mirror: Fawzia Rasheed, who works as a journalist at the local Akhbar Al-Khaleej newspaper that has close ties with the Bahraini Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman, claimed that the Shiite denomination has turned into a new religion that "has no relation to true Islam that calls for monotheism, and its rituals have no relation to the Islamic religion's rites as well." This is considered to be a Takfiri statement, declaring the Shia Muslims, who constitute the majority of the Bahraini population, to be unbelievers.

In an article published on the paper on Monday (May 2, 2016), she further alleged that the Shiite denomination has been "subjected to many breaches, including Jewish, Safavid and Persian ones, until it became a doctrine or what some call a religion that has no relation to the true Islam."

Rasheed also accused the Shiite sect (that the Bahraini majority adhere to) of being the reason behind the ongoing "major strife between Muslims to date, especially that the Iranian religious leadership today has marginalized other Arab leaderships."

Bahraini practices a systematic marginalizing policy against the Shiite majority in the country, while pro-government newspapers constantly attacks the Shia and accuses them of treason. The rate of inflammatory statements against the Shia has intensified since the eruption of the 2011 protests, demanding putting an end to the ruling Al Khalifa family's monopoly over power.

In its annual report issued on Monday, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said in the part on Bahrain that "pro-government media continued to use inflammatory, sectarian rhetoric. New media laws that would curb anti-Shi'a incitement, as recommended in the BICI report, have not been passed."

Arabic Version