Bahrain

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Bahrain Image File history File links Bahrain_coa. ... Bahrain is a constitutional monarchy (until 2002 emirate) with an executive appointed by the king, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and a bi-cameral legislature, with the Chamber of Deputies elected by universal suffrage, and the Shura Council appointed directly by the king. ...

Constitution King: Hamad ibn Isa al-Khalifah Prime minister Khalifah ibn Sulman al-Khalifah National Assembly Council of Representatives Consultative Council Political parties Elections Governorates Women's political rights Foreign relations

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The 1990s Uprising in Bahrain or 1990s Intifada was an Islamist led uprising that took place in Bahrain between 1994 and 2000. The position of king of Bahrain was created in February 2002 when the then emir of Bahrain Hamad ibn Isa al-Khalifah gave himself the title of king. ... Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifah (born January 28, 1950 in Ar-Rifa, Bahrain) (Arabic: حمد بن عيسى آل خليفة) is the current King of Bahrain (from 2002), having previously been its Emir (since 1999). ... In Bahrain, the Prime Minister is the head of government of the country. ... ‎Khalifah ibn Sulman al-Khalifah (born 1936) is the Prime Minister of Bahrain. ... The National Assembly is the name of both chambers of the Bahraini parliament when sitting in joint session, as laid out in the Constitution of 2002. ... The Council of Representatives (majlis an-nuwab), sometimes translated as the Chamber of Deputies, is the name given to the lower house of the Bahraini National Assembly, the main legislative body of Bahrain. ... The Consultative Council (majlis al-shura) is the name given to the upper house of the National Assembly, the main legislative body of Bahrain. ... Political parties from the former Communist Left to the Islamist Right sit in parliament in Bahrain, but are known technically as Political Associations or Blocs. ... The National Assembly is bicameral with the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, having 40 members elected in single-seat constituencies for a four year term. ... The Kingdom of Bahrain, or Bahrain, is a borderless country in the Persian Gulf (Southwest Asia/Middle East, Asia). ... Women’s political rights have been a cornerstone of the political reforms initiated by King Hamad with for the first time women being given the right to vote and stand as candidates in national elections after the constitution was amended in 2002. ... Bahrain plays a modest, moderating role in regional politics and adheres to the views of the Arab League on Middle East peace and Palestinian rights. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... Islamism is a political ideology derived from the conservative religious views of Muslim fundamentalism. ... Look up rebellion in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Like rebellions in Egypt and Algeria during the 1990s, its stated aims were for democratic reform, however those who interviewed the uprising's leadership were left in "little doubt about the totalitarian nature of their type of Islamic fundamentalist ideology. Their final aim is to declare an Iranian-style Islamic republic."[1].

The uprising began with the stoning of the leading team (SAAD Track Club) in the Bahrain Marathon Relay race after they ran along a road alongside a conservative village. Women's participation in the race had been cited as immoral by conservative clerics in the run up to the race, and a large group were amassed on one of the race hand over stages demonstrating, when one of the SAAD Track Club team passed the demonstrators, the runner was attacked and knocked to the ground. The uprising was characterised by riots, stonings and bomb attacks, which targeted the government, the middle classes, third world immigrants and liberals. The Iran-based Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain was one of those organisations behind the bomb attacks. On 1 November 1996, the group claimed responsibility for the bombing of the Diplomat Hotel, with the group telling the Associated Press "We put a bomb in the Diplomat hotel 20 minutes ago...after the feast...tell the government that we will destroy everyplace."[2] The Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain was an Iranian based Shia terror group that advocated Islamic revolution in Bahrain against the Sunni ruling Al Khalifa family in the 1970s and 1980s. ...

Over forty people were killed in violence. Most of the events of the Uprising took place in the villages and towns of the Baharna population. There was a strong racial component in the violence, with many of those being targeted by bomb and arson attacks third world immigrants. The rhetoric of the leaders of the uprising had referred to the threat of 'cultural genocide' posed by immigration, but more fundamental was the anger towards unskilled immigrants whose presence undermined wages and pushed up unemployment among natives who were unable to compete. The Baharna are the indigenous inhabitants of the villages and some of the coastal shores of the archipelago of Bahrain and the cities of Qatif and Al-Hasa on the Arabian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia. ...

The violence generally subsided after King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa carried out political reforms after he ascended to the throne in 1999. Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah (born January 28, 1950 in Manama, Bahrain) is the current King of Bahrain (from 2002), having previously been its Emir (since 1999). ...

See also

• History of Bahrain
• Torture in Bahrain
• Bahrain Freedom Movement

// The Dilmun Era The history of Bahrain goes back more than five thousand years to its role as the centre of the ancient civilisation of Dilmun, which dominated the trade routes between Sumeria and the Indus Valley. ... Torture is not prevalent in Bahrain today, but it was endemic in the period 1974 to 1999 before the accession of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa as head of state. ... The Bahrain Freedom Movement (or Bahrain Islamic Freedom Movement to give the direct transliteration of its Arabic name, Harakit Ahraar Al Bahrin Al Islamiyya) is a London based Bahraini Islamist opposition group which has its headquarters in a north London mosque. ...

References

• Rebellion in Bahrain, Middle East Review of International Affairs, March 1999
• List of terrorist incidents in Bahrain MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base
• Amnesty International: A human rights crisis (Sep 25, 1995)
• Human Rights Watch: Routine Abuse, Routine Denial: Civil Rights and the Political Crisis in Bahrain (June 1997)
• Khalaf, Abdulhadi (1998). Contentious politics in Bahrain: From ethnic to national and vice versa. University of Lund.
• Fakhro, Munira A. 1997. “The Uprising in Bahrain: An Assessment.” In The Persian Gulf at the Millennium: Essays in Politics, Economy, Security, and Religion, eds. Gary G. Sick and Lawrence G. Potter: 167-88. New York: St. Martin’s Press. ISBN 0-312-17567-1
• Bahry, Louay. The Socioeconomic Foundations of the Shiite Opposition in Bahrain. Mediterranean Quarterly 11.3 (2000) 129-143.
• Al-Mdaires, Falah. Shi'ism and Political Protest in Bahrain. Domes. Milwaukee: Spring 2002. Vol. 11, Iss. 1; pg. 20
• Wiktorowicz, Quintan ed Islamic Activism, A Social Theory Approach Indiana University Press, 2004

• Voice of Bahrain (mouthpiece of Bahrain Freedom Movement)