The decision by Formula One to go ahead with the Bahrain Grand Prix has once again thrust the small island state into the international media. Like much of the wider Muslim world Bahrain has seen mass demonstrations over the past year due to the Arab Spring.
وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا
“Hold fast to the rope of Allah all together, and do not separate.” [Al-Imran, 3:103]
What is the reality of Bahrain?
Bahrain is an island off the coast of Saudi Arabia with a population of 1.2 million. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are linked by a causeway. For most purposes, Bahrain is part of Saudi Arabia. Unlike Saudi Arabia, it is not a major oil producer, but it is a banking centre. It is also the home of the US 5th Fleet, and has close ties to the US. The majority of its population is Shia – over 70%, but its government is Sunni and heavily linked to Saudi Arabia. The Shi’ah population has not fared as well economically as Shia’ah in other countries in the region, and tensions between the government and the public have long existed.
What has led to the current Tensions?
The protests against the monarchy began as the Arab spring was in full flow. Lingering frustration among the Shi’ah majority led many of them to take to the streets in protest. Protests were largely peaceful, until a raid by police on the night of 17 February 2011 against protesters sleeping at the Pearl Roundabout in Manama, where four protesters were killed.. This galvanized the protests and their message was clear – the end of the monarchy, which has ruled Bahrain since the late 18th century. Protesters regularly occupied the Pearl Roundabout which became the symbol of the protests. On 22nd February, an estimated one hundred thousand people, one fifth of all Bahrainis, marched. It was this protest that led the international community to take notice.
What is the history of Bahrain?
Until the middle ages Bahrain was composed of Al-Ahsa and Al-Qatif (both now within the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia) and the Awal Islands (now the Bahrain Islands). The region stretched from Basra in Iraq to the Strait of Hormuz in Oman. This was Iqlīm al-Bahrayn’s “Bahrayn Province”.
In 1521, the Portuguese seized Bahrain, the Portuguese were then expelled from the islands in 1602 by Abbas I of the Safavid dynasty of Iran, who declared Shia Islam the official religion of Bahrain. The migration of various clans from Qatar to Bahrain including the Al Khilafa clan led to the overthrow of Safavid influence. In the early 19th century, Bahrain was invaded by both the Omanis and the Al Sauds. In 1802 it was governed by a twelve year old child, when the Omani ruler Sayyid Sultan installed his son, Salim, as Governor in the Arad Fort.
In 1820, the Al Khalifa tribe gained power and entered into a treaty with Britain, by then the dominant military power in the Persian Gulf. This treaty granted the Al Khalifa the title of Rulers (“Al-Hakim”) of Bahrain.
In the 1830’s the Al Khalifa family signed the first of many treaties establishing Bahrain as a British Protectorate. Similar to the binding treaties of protection entered into by other Persian Gulf principalities, the agreements entered into by the Al Khalifa’s prohibited them from disposing of territory and entering into relationships with any foreign government without British consent in exchange for British protection against the threat of military attack from Uthmani Khilafah. Eventually Britain forced the Uthmani Khilafah into a treaty recognising the independence of Bahrain.
Is there any International aspect to the crisis?
Every problem Bahrain faces is due to international powers, both past and present.
Today Bahrain continues with its 1991 defence agreement with the US granting the Americans full access to Bahraini military facilities and ensuring the right to pre-position material for any future crises. Bahrain is the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
However, Bahrain remains the British protectorate that it has been since the 19th century. This is why the monarch of Bahrain, Sheikh Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa, is an invited guest to the Queen of England’s diamond jubilee celebrations later this year. It is also the reason why the British Prime Minister David Cameron rolled out the red carpet for the crown prince of Bahrain, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, only weeks after he had overseen the violent crackdown of protestors in the Bahraini capital Manama, with the aid of Saudi and other GCC troops. He then met the King personally in Downing Street six months later, who visited to get “British advice” on how to implement reforms in the country.
In the period soon after the height of the protests in 2011 the British government approved the sale of more than £1 million worth of military equipment to the Bahraini regime. This included licenses for gun silencers, weapons sights, rifles and other equipment, all of which could conceivably be being used against their own population. Not a single export license to Bahrain was rejected, despite a crackdown on protestors denounced by international human rights organizations. In other words, Britain has been, and continues to, provide the weapons that could be used by the regime in their crackdown against opposition.
Policing expertise has also been exported to Bahrain, with former Scotland Yard “counter-terrorism” chief John Yates being currently employed to advise the Bahraini regime on “police reform”. (Yates, resigned in disgrace from Scotland Yard for his role in the Murdoch media phone hacking scandal). His employment by the Bahraini regime follows in the tradition of British ex-spooks being given a job by the Khalifas, with Ian Henderson – formerly a Colonial Police Officer responsible for suppressing the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya – hired as the head of state security in Bahrain for more than three decades.
Why did Saudi Arabia send over 1000 troops to the country during the peak of the protests?
On 14 March 2011, at the request of the Crown Prince, GCC Saudi Arabian troops entered the country and opened fire on the protesters, several of whom were killed. Both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have treated their shi’ah populations with much content. Both countries use sectarianism to remain in power and create a cohesive society by blaming every ill in their country upon the Shi’ah in order to shore up support from their Sunni populace.
An uprising by the Shi’ah in the region would have had serious implications as the Shi’ah in Eastern Saudi Arabia – neglected by the Saudi monarchy mainly reside amongst Saudi’s coveted oil fields. Any uprising by the Shi’ah could be exploited by Iran and spread to Saudi’s Eastern provinces which is dominated by Shi’ah, this is why the Saudi very quickly answered the Crown prince’s plea for help.
How much of a problem is sectarianism?
The crisis in Bahrain is between the monarchy and the Shi’ah. It is due to the neglect and oppression of the monarchy that oppressed Muslims like the wider Muslim world have been forced to take to the streets. Colonial strategy historically was to put a minority in power over the majority, so they would always need foreign help. Britain left a minority Sunni in power over a majority Shi’ah in Iraq, similarly in Syria the minority Alawi’s were put in power over a majority Sunni.
The problem in Bahrain is foreign interference and insincere rulers, sectarianism in in some cases has been stoked to maintain the status quo.
Can the monarchy be overthrown?
This would appear to be highly unlikely currently. As the intervention by Saudi Arabia shows, it is in the interests of many powers in the region and outside the region to keep the monarchy in power as it protects their interests whilst oppresses its own people. It would take a sustained attack in Manama the capital of Bahrain, which would need to be taken over by opposition forces as this is the engine for the island country. At the same time opposition forces would need to withstand any foreign intervention, which would be extremely difficult as the island country is surrounded by the Persian Gulf, which would be difficult to defend against for long, as it is international waters.