Bahrain's Embassy in Washington organises discussions on combatting “theocrats”

Manama, Mar 2 (BNA) – The Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain in Washington DC announced that it had hosted a seminar to discuss HRH the Crown Prince's remarks at the Manama Dialogue security forum in December last year. The seminar entitled "interpretations of Manama Dialogue 2014" was organised in coordination with the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and focused on key elements of the Crown Prince’s speech at the Manama Dialogue, including effective means to combat the rise of “theocracies” pervading the Middle East. In the speech, His Royal Highness argued that the term ‘war on terror’ was outdated and a new definition was required to focus on what he described as “the real threat – the rise of evil theocracies”. The Crown Prince argued that comprehensively defining the enemy and its ideology was a fundamental step towards successfully aligning security, political, economic and social policies to holistically address the threat they pose. The discussion highlighted the importance of reflecting His Royal Highness's speech in an effort to stimulate discussion amongst wider groups of specialised institutions, in order to identify effective strategies that address increasing danger of Theocrats regionally and internationally. Turning to the steps put forward by His Royal Highness to effectively end the rise of Theocrats, the participants shed light on the importance of aligning security, political and economic policies to further support the international coalition’s efforts in fighting extremist groups across the region. Discussions also covered a wide range of security issues threatening the GCC region and the wider world. The session hosted a number of officials representing governmental and non-governmental organisations, as well as academic security specialists in regional affairs.