Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): The false news about unintended pregnancies in Iraq's holy city of Karbala during Arbaeen mourning rituals reported by the Saudi Asharq Al-awsat newspaper last Sunday (November 20, 2016) was not a simple error. It was rather a deliberate fabrication intended to incite further sectarian tension in the region, as Riyadh has been and still is fueling these tensions via widespread media and religious networks.

Rana Sidani, a World Health Organization spokesperson, said the organisation was shocked at the publication of the fabricated report by the Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsat after the international group had denied the report on Friday (November 18, 2016).

WHO issued a press release strongly denouncing a claim recently published on the "Aswat Hurrah" (Free voices) website on so called illegitimate marriages during religious ceremonies. The claim that this information was released by a WHO headquarter's communications officer is completely erroneous, stressed the organization.

"WHO not only condemns the use of the Organization's name in such an unethical report, which is totally contradictory to its principles, but is currently investigating the source of this false news and will consider taking legal action," the press release further read.

This deliberate false reporting sparked a massive wave of reactions across the region voicing their condemnation. These responses were not limited to the Shia who visit Karbala to commemorate the Arbaeen religious occasion every year, as many journalists and activists also strongly criticized the paper's move. Arbaeen marks 40 days since Ashura, when Imam Hussein (PBUH), the third Shia Imam and the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), was martyred along with his 72 companions in the desert plains of Karbala 14 centuries ago.

The London-based Saudi Asharq al-Awsat is known for its supportive stances towards armed terrorist groups fighting in Iraq and Syria, and its rejection of Shia-led Iraqi government efforts in spreading peace and driving out militants from main cities.

Commenting on the incident, Saudi writer Tawfiq Al-Seif took to Twitter and said: "Obscenity in animosity has no limits unfortunately."

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— ÊæÝíÞ ÇáÓíÝ (@t_saif) November 20, 2016

Following the condemnations by WHO and Iraqi officials, Asharq Al-Awsat published a correction and announced that it has fired the paper's editor in Baghdad who was responsible for the publication of the story. However, it is unlikely that the Saudi authorities, who support the paper and similar extremist newspapers and TV channels, will take punitive measures against it.

"After this false report, it is clear that editing in Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper is not different from editing in the Wisal TV channel!," said Mohammad Ali Al-Mahmoud, a journalist at Al-Riyadh newspaper. [Wisal is a Saudi television channel that calls for fighting against Shia Muslims.]

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Days later, editor-in-chief of the Saudi daily, Salman Aldossary, resigned. Aldossary announced his resignation on Wednesday in a tweet and announced that he will be replaced by Lebanese journalist Ghassan Charbel.

Meanwhile in Bahrain, where the Iraqi Embassy issued around 80,000 visas for for Bahrainis visiting its country on the occasion of Arbaeen, activists voiced their frustration at the paper's false reporting.

"This is another example of reporting fabricated news that contest people's beliefs," said prominent Bahraini opposition figure Ebrahim Sharif in a tweet.

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— Ebrahim Sharif (@ebrahimsharif) November 20, 2016

Bahrainis have also suffered from similar fabrications during their uprising that strived to put an end to the ruling Al Khalifa family's monopoly over power. Saeed Al-Hamad, a journalist who works for the government-owned Al-Ayam paper, reported the Asharq Al-awsat false article, which confirms the many lies he repeatedly publishes about the Pearl Roundabout protestors.

Al-Wasat newspaper journalist Jaafar Al-Jamri, in response, published the WHO press release denouncing the false reporting of Asharq Al-Awsat, and said: "Of course Saeed Al-Hamad found it an opportunity to prove his enmity, yet the response was swift."

The Bahraini government, which according to UN experts persecutes its Shia citizens, does not hold accountable any of its journalists and writers, who intentionally insult the Shia sect, whose followers represent the majority of the Bahraini population.

A number of government-owned papers publish almost on a daily basis reports and articles that insult the Shia majority that calls for a democratic transition of power.

Arabic Version