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Community police searching a worshipper entering a mosque
for Friday prayers

Safety boost for mosques in Bahrain

MANAMA, July 23, 2015

Places of worship in Bahrain will be equipped with additional first aid boxes and fire extinguishers, as part of measures to step up security.  

Volunteers and officials in charge of mosques and ma’tams will also undergo evacuation and safety training as part of a health and safety enhancement project initiated by the Jaffari Waqf (Endowments) Directorate, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The GDN earlier reported that Bahrain stepped up security at mosques since deadly mosque bombings in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait by radicals affiliated with the Islamic State.

The measures included installing security cameras at places of worship and closing of mosques after each prayer session for caretakers to sweep places of worship for suspicious objects.

“First aid kits and fire extinguishers are there in mosques and ma’tams, but the initiative is to make sure additional facilities are provided,” a spokesman from the directorate told the GDN yesterday.

“Volunteers go to the mosques and ma’tams and check these facilities to make sure they are efficient and well equipped and additional equipment is being provided by the directorate.

“This comes in line with the government stepping up security for worship places after the blasts in neighbouring countries.

“Imams and volunteers will be trained in giving first aid and using fire extinguishers in case of any such situation.

“Apart from these, they will also be trained on emergency evacuation.

“We hope to complete the work within two weeks.”

A Bahraini man, who is a registered volunteer at the Kanoo Mosque in Gufool, urged the public to support security measures outlined by the directorate and the Interior Ministry.

“We must accept the fact that there is an element of risk always and we need to be prepared to fight any situation, especially with the recent incidents in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia,” he told the GDN on the condition of anonymity.

“Mosques and ma’tams are places where people gather and it is good that people are trained on first aid, fire extinguishing and evacuation.

“So we should not panic and react to these measures, instead give our full support to the authorities.”

The GDN yesterday reported on a workshop to train young Bahrainis in conflict resolution, which will be held in Bahrain next month.

It is being organised by the Bahrain Foundation for Reconciliation Conflict Resolution, which is behind an initiative to bring Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims together for joint Friday prayers in defiance of the deadly bombings.

The mosque attack in Kuwait on June 26 killed 27 people and injured 227 others, while the suicide bombings at Shi’ite mosques in Saudi Arabia on May 22 and May 29, claimed 24 lives. - TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Bahrain | Safety | Mosque | boost | Police |

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