MANAMA, 9 October 2005 — The fasting month of Ramadan may be a test of abstinence for the faithful, but in Bahrain it is also the season for open political forums.

“Ramadan has become the real season for political activities,” said Sheikh Salah Al-Juder, member of the municipal council of Muharaq, the second-largest island of the archipelago.

“I think that the political debate will intensify because municipal and legislative elections are approaching,” he said, in reference to the polls expected in May and October 2006, respectively.

Dozens of tents are erected every year across Bahrain by notables who turn them into traditional “diwaniyas,” or meeting places during the long Ramadan nights.

Ramadan, the most sacred month in the Islamic calendar, sees the world’s one billion Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours.

After breaking their fast at dusk, faithful Bahrainis recite prayers before gathering at their family home or heading to spend the evenings at the diwaniyas.

Muharaq, an island of less than 100,000 residents, has about 140 diwaniyas where “political debates will tackle the possible participation of some organizations in the elections of 2006,” after they boycotted the 2002 polls, said Juder.

“If the Islamic National Accord Association (INAA) decides to participate, the Ramadan forums will mark the launch of the electoral campaign” for the upcoming polls, said the young Sunni Muslim imam.

INAA is the main political formation of the Shiite Muslim majority in the archipelago and constitutional monarchy where political parties are banned although associations are authorized.

Political groups operate as associations due to a continued ban on political parties in Bahrain amid slow attempts to introduce reforms to the country since 2001.

A new law passed by Parliament and ratified by King Hamad in July states that political associations can be formed only so long as they are not based on class, profession, sectarian, or geographical principles.

And even charity action, which rises sharply during the holy month which calls on faithful to make donations to the needy, is closely linked to politics in Bahrain, said Juder.

Dhia Musawi, a young Shiite dignitary, agrees. “I expect political debate to heat up,” he said. “The diwaniyas will become forums ... where people discuss their problems. Politics will be the main topic, whether concerning local or international issues.”

Women in the kingdom have their own diwaniyas.

Bahraini activist Badria Ali promises to open at least once during Ramadan the “majlis (council) for women” that she has been holding in the last three years.

Activist Najat Titoon wants to hold her majlis twice during Ramadan “mainly to discuss the political role of women.”

Juder said women “play an important role during Ramadan.”

“They can visit people without problems, and they can meet both women and men,” for electoral purposes, he said.