King Hamad bin-ISA-al-Khalifa has decided to allocate land for Church construction to the Catholic community in 2013
The laying of the first stone of the Cathedral took place in the town of a’ali, located 30 kilometers South of the capital of the Kingdom of Bahrain of Manama.
The service at the laying was attended by the ambassadors of Italy and France and a representative of the Sunni Royal house of Bahrain, according to “Rublev”.
As reported, king Hamad bin-ISA-al-Khalifa has suddenly decided to allocate land for Church construction to the Catholic community in 2013. In spite of this aid the planning and approval procedure of the decree has led to significant delay. Most of the construction funds paid by the Catholics of the region.
In 2012, supported by the king plans to build largest Catholic Church in Bahrain has become a cause for conflict between Shiites and Sunnis. Sunni leaders strongly opposed the construction of the Church complex, calling it an open challenge. More than 70 of them signed a petition stating that on the Arabian Peninsula cannot be built Church.
The island country of Bahrain is located on the same archipelago in the Persian Gulf in southwest Asia. This is the smallest Arab state. The bulk of the population of Bahrain is Muslim (70,3%). Christians make up 14.5% of the population.
The Catholic community of the Vicariate of Northern Arabia consists almost exclusively of immigrants, mainly from India, Bangladesh or the Philippines. Often these people face discrimination as ethnic and religious minorities.
In the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, Islam is the state religion. The Koran and Sharia govern social life. Christian missionary work, Church life and conversion to Christianity outlawed.