MANAMA, June 4: The first mass wedding involving members of both Bahrain's Shia majority and the Sunni minority took place in the Gulf kingdom on Thursday night, a statement from parliament said on Friday.

Parliament Speaker Khalifa al-Dhahrani was on hand when 28 men and women from the two communities tied the knot in Hamad City south of Manama, the statement said.

Marriage rituals were conducted by two Shia sheikhs and a Sunni counterpart, it added. Many mass weddings, funded by charities and Islamic associations, have taken place in Bahrain in recent years to help ease the financial burden on Bahrainis wishing to marry.

But Thursday's function, organized by a marriage consultation firm, was the first of its kind grouping members of both the Shia and Sunni communities. Shias make up about 60 per cent of Bahrain's population. -AFP