Democracy is not just constitutional and legislative rules it is a culture and practice and adhering by the law and respecting international human rights principles.

You cannot transpose the U.S. system on Turkey, and the Turkish system on France etc. You have to understand the people and their culture. That's leadership.

If somebody gives me his hand, I will not look at him with suspicion.

I cherished the dream of a country embracing all its people.

If you like your brother and he's prospering, you'll be pleased for him.

May Allah guide us to the good of the kingdom of Bahrain and its loyal people.

Bahrainis are better off than many other Arabs. We have a welfare state, everybody gets a salary whether they have a job or not. Electricity and food are subsidized school and healthcare are free. And we don't differentiate between Bahrainis and foreigners. We are very proud of that.

Any government that has a sincere desire for reform and progress should understand the benefit of objective and constructive criticism.

I care about Bahrain. Bahrain is very dear to me. I will not allow people to play around with our laws.

The decision to open up Bahrain to embrace all people indiscriminately was fostered in me ever since I was a child.

There is no ethnic cleansing in Bahrain, no mass genocide, no policy of killing innocent people.

Bahrain 's margin of freedom is growing day after day as we head into the future with steady steps.

By being friends with all, we are not alone.