Defending Bahraini royal family

"In this context, the situation in Bahrain has much broader strategic implications than many seem to realize. Bahrain is a fundamentally decent society but there are serious injustices there, as many in the Bahraini ruling family will admit. The Bahraini opposition is now infected with the revolutionary Iranian ideology of wilayat al faqih, a self-serving and self-righteous clericalism that rejects accommodation with secular authority."  I don't know if Ambassador Freeman has any business dealings with the Bahraini royal family, but I know that he told me that he had business dealings with the Saudi royal family, after he left the foreign service.  Also, can he point out to us any example where the Bahraini royal family "admitted" "serious injustices"?  Also, did the royal family refrain from repressing opposition when it was led by leftists and Arab nationalists before the advent of the Iranian revolution?  (thanks Matthew)