Mr. Mahmood Al Yousif
Managing Director
Gulf Broadcast & Professional

    Mahmood Al-Yousif is a "bridge blogger" who attempts to bridge cultural gaps between not only the East and West but through his "Just Bahraini" campaign, also the enlarged gap between Sunnis and Shi'as. He does this by writing about politics, religion, culture and every-day life in his blog "Mahmood's Den" at www.mahmood.tv

    Mahmood’s first foray into the world of online communities was when he started &Stray Cats BBS& which was one of the first Bulletin Board Systems [BBS] in the area in 1986 - BBSs predated the Internet, and has not stopped since by creating various websites and blogs which serve as a platform to aid rapprochement locally and internationally.

    Mahmood strongly believes in the Just Bahraini campaign and notes that: “we are at an historic crossroads. We either eliminate this repugnant sectarianism or it will burn us all. Let us work together because we cannot be free if we do not stand united and we cannot live happily if we are not together. We are one people with one heart and one history.

    Sectarianism will only sever ties between the sons and daughters of Bahrain. Say neither Sunni nor Shiite, but Just Bahraini.” Explaining that the campaign emphasizes that religious and spiritual beliefs as a private matters between the person and His or Her maker; the campaign emphasizes the right of individuals to practice their religion how they see fit; however, it provides that the common denominator should be their nationalism which encompass everyone without discrimination or marginalization.

    Mahmood is a 45 year old Bahraini, married to Frances Irvine and father to Amna, Hanan and Arif who all live in Bahrain.