Manama, Bahrain -- A Call to broadcast Shi'ite Friday sermons on television has gone out from Muharraq residents.
A petition signed by 270 residents will be submitted to Information Minister and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Mohammed Abdulghaffar next week.
Residents submitted a similar petition to former Information Minister Nabeel Al Hamer last year, but say they never got a reply.
Muharraq Municipal Council legislative and financial affairs committee chairman Majeed Karimi said Sunni and Shi'ite residents had signed the petition.
"If this fails again, then we will collect the signatures of all Muharraq Governorate residents and to my knowledge there are 10,000 eligible to sign," he said.
"It is unfair that the sermons for a certain sect are being broadcast live on TV, while sermons of other sect were not being broadcast."
Mr Karimi said that the Constitution guaranteed everyone equal rights and His Majesty King Hamad has always stressed that there was no difference between Shi'ites and Sunnis.
"Bahrain TV channels have been broadcasting Shi'ite shows and programmes recently, but until today Shi'ite Friday sermons have not been broadcast live," he said.
Mr Karimi said that Bahrain and Radio and Television Corporation (BRTC) could easily broadcast sermons for both sects, on different channels.
"For example, they could broadcast one on the satellite channel and the other on the terrestrial channel," he explained.
"The one broadcast on the territorial channel could be then broadcast later during the day on the satellite channel or live on the radio." Mr Karimi said this would be of value to people not able to attend the sermons.