Bahraini Opposition Leader Praises Houthis, Calls on Bahrainis to Take Inspiration from Them

Bahraini Shiite Sheikh Abdullah Saleh, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Islamic Action Society, an Islamist political party in Bahrain, said in a lecture that was uploaded to the Internet on December 17, 2019 that the Khalifa clan that rules over Bahrain is an occupier that was brought to power by the British in order to control the region. He compared the Khalifa clan to the Saud clan, to Israel, and to the Zionists, saying that its goal is to strengthen Israel and the Gulf countries and to prevent the Arab people from becoming independent. Sheikh Saleh said that the only way the Bahrainis can regain their rights is by means of “serious, diligent, and continuous action,” and he praised the success of the Houthis in Yemen. He added that Bahrainis need to take Islam more seriously. Sheikh Saleh delivered his lecture against the background of an image of Imam Khomeini and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.