Chan'ad Bahraini

I'm sure the poster shown in the photo above is familiar to everyone living in Bahrain. For several months now I've seen this poster in several places around the island. For those of you who don't live here, the person sitting on the horse is the King of Bahrain (HRH Sheikh Hamad al-Khalifa).

Now I'm wondering, is there anybody else out there who feels that the horse in the painting bears an eery resemblance to Zuljenah, the horse that Imam Hussain rode during the Tragedy of Kerbala (like in this painting)? Okay, so there are lots of people who ride white horses... but still, the style in which the horse has been painted seems to be very similar to those in paintings used to portray Kerbala within the Shia' tradition.

Hmm, I probably am being paranoid, and am trying to appropriate more symbolism than actually exists in the picture. In any case, I do like the gesture on behalf of the King. It is slightly patronizing, and the artwork is not extraordinary, but the spirit is there. I wonder what other people thought of this picture?

This entry was posted on Friday, May 07, 2004 at 5/07/2004 11:56:00 pm. Permalink