Democracy is a tool for the representation of civil societies in which separate religious, sectarian, racial and regional distinctions exist together in a civil state based on equality of citizenship and legal instruments.

In recent days, the world has witnessed two remarkable events in the exercise of democracy. The first was the parliamentary elections of Bahrain, which were attacked by more than 40,000 hysterical messages sent by the Iranian sectarian regime. The result was the largest participation in the history of Bahraini elections with 67 percent of the people casting their vote.

The second event was the ratification by the British Cabinet of the draft Brexit agreement. This came after a national referendum was held in Britain and the people chose to leave the European Union. The government respected the wish of the people and prepared to leave the EU, despite the objections and protests of major groups of politicians and businessmen.

This is democracy in its most beautiful manifestation. With regard to the elections in Bahrain, Ali Khamenei, Hassan Rouhani and Hassan Nasrallah were all involved in revolutionary, sectarian, separatist and racist speeches. Such talk deprives people of their rights and does not take into consideration the different political issues involved, presenting them only through a narrow sectarian perspective.

These people want to use democracy as a way to reach “other” goals that are now clearly exposed. The rule of Al-Faqih state and a democratic civil state are not the same. A civil state has certain features and conditions, among which is the fact that it does not traffic in racism, nepotism and discrimination. Britain offers an example of the cost of democracy and how to live with the consequences of the choice of the people.

The real challenge remains in developing a deep understanding of the value and meaning of democracy and protecting its message from those who wish to use it for abhorrent sectarian purposes, whatever their origins and goals might be. Democracy is a system of values created by man and there are those today who wish to hijack it in the name of religion and turn it into a means of oppression and tyranny. Congratulations to Bahrain for its election results and congratulations to Britain for its attempt to respect the difficult decision of its people.