King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain Praises Reforms King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa said Tuesday that Bahrain had rolled out real reforms in the wake of international criticism of its crackdown on protesters last year but now needed to prove it could put them into practice. At least 1,000 people were detained when the Sunni Muslim-ruled kingdom crushed protests led by its Shiite majority demanding curbs to the power of the ruling family, an end to sectarian discrimination and democratic reforms. Mr. Khalifa said Bahrain had made significant progress in reforming its security forces, judiciary, social policy and media since the unrest began in February 2011. "We want our people to feel and see the differences these changes have on their lives," he said at a government ceremony. The challenge of the coming months will be to translate these into tangible, cultural changes. Bahrain's opposition parties dismiss the reforms as window-dressing to impress Western allies who pressured the country into investigating the crushing of protests last year. They say no senior officials have been held accountable for the torture of detainees, which led to five deaths, and complain that public and private employees who took part in protests were fired from their jobs.