Death in Bahrain Brings Demand That U.S. Leave

MANAMA, Bahrain, April 7 — Muhammad Jumaa, a 24-year-old hospital worker, died today, two days after being shot in the head at a demonstration that penetrated the grounds of the American Embassy here, his death feeding a brooding resentment of the extensive American presence on this Persian Gulf island.

"America's blind support for Israel and its silence encourage Israel to kill more Palestinians, just as America did in Afghanistan and Iraq," said Ibrahim Abdullah, one of a steady stream of mourners who made their way to the dead man's dusty grave on the edge of a poor village populated by Shiite Muslims just north of Manama, the capital.

The men and women at the graveside echoed the sentiments of thousands of mourners who marched in the funeral procession earlier in the day. "No American base in Islamic Bahrain!" they chanted, referring to the United States Fifth Fleet's headquarters here.

They also demanded that Bahrain expel the American ambassador for what they consider highly insensitive remarks about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"The American base is very dangerous here," Mr. Abdullah said. "Because of their presence we feel crippled. They will stand with the government against the people. They are against Islam. Americans hate Islam."

Mr. Jumaa, by all accounts a quiet man who was engaged to be married in February, died of internal bleeding two days after he was shot 30 yards from the embassy.

There are conflicting reports about whether he was hit by a tear gas canister or a rubber bullet and whether the fatal shot came from the embassy itself or was fired by the Bahraini police.