The Bahrain Freedom Movement () is a London-based

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

i opposition group which has its headquarters in a north London mosque. Its main medium is the Voice of Bahrain website which was blocked for several years by Batelco, Bahrain's sole

Internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, no ...

, on orders from the Ministry of Information. The BFM played a leading role in the 1990s uprising in Bahrain. It is led by Said Al Shehabi, who was formerly a member of Bahrain's main

Shi'a Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor ( caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community ( imam). However, his right is understoo ...

Islamist party, Al Wefaq Islamic National Society but resigned along with several other members in September 2005 after it ended its boycott of parliamentary elections. Shehabi is a columnist with the London-based Arab newspaper, '' Al Quds Al Arabi''. The Bahrain government's political reforms in 2001 saw two of the BFM's most prominent leaders leave the movement. Under the reforms, all exiles were invited to return to Bahrain to participate in the political process, and leading members returned to their homeland. Although all of its members have received political amnesties and most have returned to Bahrain to participate in the political process, several have remained in London where they hold the status of asylum seekers. On March 7, 2011, Al Shehabi alongside Hasan Mushaima, the leader of the Haq movement and Abdulwahab Hussain, the leader of the Wafa movement, formed the "Coalition for the Republic", calling for an overthrow of the Sunni government, because of the crackdown in February during the

Bahraini uprising of 2011 The 2011 Bahraini uprising was a series of anti-government protests in Bahrain led by the mainly Shia and some Sunni Islam, Sunni Bahraini opposition primarily from 2011 until 2014. The protests were inspired by the unrest of the 2011 Arab Spri ...

External links

Video: Bahrain – The Story of Constitutional Uprising

Carlton TV documentary about Bahrain Uprising

Channel 4 video of Bahrain Uprising

References

Bahraini uprising of 2011 Political parties in Bahrain Republicanism in Bahrain 1982 establishments in the United Kingdom Political parties established in 1982 Organizations of the Arab Spring Political opposition organizations Organizations designated as terrorist by Bahrain Shia Islamic political parties {{Bahrain-stub

See also

External links

References