«Bahrain Mirror» issued today an e-book entitled “Ashura in Bahrain, US Embassy Wikileaks”, in both English and Arabic. The book is a broad reading into the content of diplomatic cables exchanged between the US Embassy in Manama and the US State Department, about the commemoration of Ashura in Bahrain, between 2005 and 2010.

Ashura played highly effective political roles in all stages of Bahrain throughout history. Since the mid-90s, “It was surprising if not at least one political activist was arrested on the backdrop of an anti-government rhetoric, at the height of Ashura and the entire month of Muharram”.

In seven episodes, Bahrain Mirror presented a reading research on the cables sent by US Embassy in Manama to US State Department about Ashura commemoration. Why is US diplomacy so interested in Bahrain’s Ashura?

The US Embassy continued to follow up commemoration rites of Ashura steadily, particularly the central address delivered during the religious occasion.

HR Activist Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja’s oration didn’t only attract the attention of political researchers like Justin Gengler but was also focus of US Embassy’s cable in 2009.

The US keen interest in following the commemoration of Ashura in Bahrain continued to be reflected in the Embassy’s annual reports.

Starting from 2005, US Embassy in Manama's report on Ashura became a routine procedure. Ashura Commemoration itself became an event to be observed, monitored, and reported.

During the Ashura photos and flags crisis in 2005, US Embassy in Manama released a detailed report on Shiite religious holiday of Ashura in just a few days.

Number of cables leaked by WikiLeaks revealed US Embassy in Manama annually sends confidential report on Ashura commemoration in Bahrain to US State Department.

Bahrain Mirror: One of the documents of the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the WikiLeaks website disclosed recently revealed the ministry’s categorization of newspapers and journalists in Bahrain. The document identifies the journalists as Sunnis, Salafist Sunnis or Shiites.

Bahrain Mirror: A cable issued by the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Manama disclosed that Bahrain requested military assistance from Morocco in 2012.

Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): A cable leaked by the WikiLeaks Website showed that Saudi Arabia only receives Sunni scholarship applicants from Bahrain under an agreement between the two states.

Bahrain Mirror: A confidential cable, published by the WikiLeaks website this week, disclosed a recommendation by the Saudi general intelligence which called for the exclusion of Shiites from all the projects presented by Saudi Arabia to Bahrain.

Bahrain Mirror: A cable issued by the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Tehran revealed that the embassy adopted a plan to support religious Salafist channels and direct media outlets “to focus on Iran’s interference in the affairs of Arab countries, like Bahrain, in their newscasts.”

Bahrain Mirror: A cable issued by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed that the general intelligence requested information about the Shiite activism in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Bahrain Mirror: A cable issued by the former Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal revealed that he had thrown his full support behind the launch of a satellite TV network to broadcast from Bahrain against Iran in both persian and english languages.

Bahrain Mirror: A cable issued by the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Manama said that the Bahraini ruling family divided on how to deal with the escalation of protests, marking the first anniversary of the February 14 revolution.

Bahrain Mirror: A cable issued by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed the ministry’s evaluation of the European Parliament’s resolution on January 17, 2013 regarding the human rights situation in Bahrain.

Bahrain Mirror: A cable issued by the Gulf Cooperation Council’s delegation to Brussels showed that the resolution adopted by the European Parliament on January 17, 2013 on Bahrain comprised of two clauses that were omitted: imposing sanctions against Bahraini officials and reconsidering the European Union’s relations with Bahrain.

Bahrain Mirror: The Saudi Cables published by the WikiLeaks website showed that the GCC had instructed Gulf states ambassadors in the countries that imposed an arms embargo on Bahrain to make collective diplomatic calls in order to support Bahrain’s stance.