Islamists Eye Bahrain's F1 Race

After forcing the cancellation of the "immoral" reality TV show Big Brother, Bahraini Islamists want to ensure there will be no champagne-spraying and scantily-dressed women at next month's Formula One Grand Prix.

Bahrain won the deal to stage the race despite competition from Dubai, Egypt and Lebanon as part of its drive to attract tourists and foreign investment. Building work on the Sakhir circuit, venue for the April 4 race, is on schedule and organisers must now contend with cultural and religious restraints.

"We have raised these issues with organisers and they have promised there will be no naked women and no celebrations with champagne," said Adel al-Moawada, deputy chairman of Bahrain's parliament.

"This is an Islamic country and celebrations must conform to our traditions...I don't think organisers would want to ruin such a big, costly event for such a small thing," he said.

Grand Prix winners traditionally spray champagne over the crowd after a race and lightly-clad models are a feature of Formula One. Champagne is expected to be replaced by non-alcoholic fizz in Bahrain.

There were no girls in bikinis at a 1999 race in Malaysia, another Muslim country which also holds Grands Prix. Moawada led noisy protests which forced the Arab television channel MBC this week to stop its Arabic version of the hit reality show Big Brother, produced in Bahrain.

Big Brother had raised eyebrows in the conservative society for showing unmarried men and women living together in defiance of Muslim traditions. Bahrain's government denies any role in stopping the show.

The Big Brother issue provoked a debate between Islamists and other Bahrainis who favour a more liberal social climate to attract business to pro-Western Bahrain, the Gulf's banking hub and headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet.

"Who wants to invest in a country in the grip of a group of hardliners? Do we want to go in the same direction as Iran and Taliban in Afghanistan?" Bahrain's Akhbar al-Khaleej newspaper said in an editorial.

Islamists have vowed to eradicate all "immoral" aspects of Western culture from Bahrain. Bahraini youth have in the past two years protested against Western-style concerts and other events they deemed obscene.

"We don't want economic growth at the expense of our youth's moral corruption. We don't want prosperity through sinful methods," MP Jassim al-Saeed told Reuters. He warned Formula One organisers to make sure no Israelis attend the event.

"If this happens we will confront it. We will pick up our pens and start writing until we stop it," he said.

Bahrain, which like many Arab countries has no ties with Israel because of its occupation of Arab land, does not allow anyone with an Israeli passport to enter the country.