Talk:Bahrain

== 33% sunni 66% shia = or = 66% sunni 33%shia = NO body know (because the is not any statistics data from government about that The two references 75 and 76 are worthless. One link is dead the other one is a blog! There are no statistics whatsoever in these two links. I don't see any unofficial sources "such as the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office." You either remove these numbers or fix them. At least alert the reader by asking for a valid reference. Asd1815 (talk) 05:21, 19 February 2011 (UTC)

Yes, the reference is to a blog and it's incorrect, Government official says Sunni in Bahrain 63% in 2011 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Aldoy (talk • contribs) 19:03, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

from Central Informatics Organisation the is NO data about that (so from where this Numbers??!!)

Bahrain got its independence from Iran in 1971?

There's that heading on this article that says so (with no reference). As far as I know, in 1971 it was UK that withdrew from Bahrain. Before, Bahrain was part of "Trucial States" or something like that. But yea, I don't think that Bahrain got its independence from Iran. Never read something like that. So yea, I'll erase it. Rad vsovereign (talk) 14:57, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

Liberation of Bahrain?

The title "1783 Bani Utbah liberation of Bahrain" seems to be Not NPOV . What about changing it to "1783 rising of Bani Utbah " ? that is more neutral . --Alborz Fallah (talk) 17:16, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

Is the map messed up?

All I see is a grey square on a pure white background. Browser issue or picture issue? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.190.29.150 (talk) 04:36, 21 April 2009 (UTC)

(Sorry if this comment isn't being made right - it's my first comment on an article, and I'm a little bit confused by the directions.) The square on the world map should correspond to the edges of the enlarged smaller map. Ben Isecke (talk) 16:28, 16 February 2011 (UTC)

One Way Glass

The article mentions changes in building laws to make people fit one way glass to buildings to stop people seeing out. This is an unusual claim and the reference provided no longer exists at address linked to. The only other reference to this I can find on the internet is another Wikipedia article (Muharraq Goveronate) that states, again without a supporting reference, that a political party suggested this policy during an election.

Does anyone have a reference to support the claim that these building laws were actually enacted? MalachiK (talk) 09:54, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Perhaps we should remove it. This could be a possible vandalism act, because this article had a large vandalism-history and i just recently got it semi protected indefinitely. So once again, if you think that fact is wrong, and have enough supporting evidence for it, then i think we better remove it... Kind regards. Rehman (talk) 14:08, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

I've removed it. If something is dubious, and is unreferenced, that is enough reason to remove it. carl bunderson (talk) (contributions) 04:30, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

The World War II Italian air raid on Bahrain on October 19th 1940. Perhaps this should be mentioned?

http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/197604/air.raid.a.sequel.htm —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hanslune (talk • contribs) 23:25, 23 May 2009 (UTC)

Persian Gulf vs. Arabian Gulf...

I believe that in this artical the name: "Persian Gulf", should be swapped for the name: "Arabian Gulf", because all Arab people refer this body of water as the: "خليج العربي" (Khaleej Al-Arabi), rather than the "خليج الفارس" (Khaleej Al-Faris), so when associating any Arab, or Gulf country with this body of water, the Arabian Gulf should be used. User:Salalah4life (talk) 12:20, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

You are right, in a way. The thing is, the article relating to that water-body is in-fact named as Persian Gulf, not Arabian Gulf. So its quite clear that the sea is actually called the Persian Gulf. But yet, i may be wrong. I suggest you discuss this with the authors of the Persian Gulf article, and see where it takes... Regards. Rehman (talk) 10:36, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

Wikipedia uses a unified form of naming that is concerned best with most common English usage.Internal changing of the names does not matters here , as in Iran , the name Arvandrud is more dominant than Shatt al-Arab , but in Wikipedia , the second word (Shatt al-Arab ) is the standard name in use .--Alborz Fallah (talk) 08:11, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Most of all, the name Persian Gulf is an established standard in English and most other languages in the world. Since this is the English Wikipedia and not its Arab version, only English standards should be used. And "Arabian Gulf" is no such standard. That's also the reason why the respective article is named Persian Gulf. Tajik (talk) 18:20, 7 November 2009 (UTC)

We don't have a queen in Bahrain

Hi, Please Edit the - Queen Sabika bint Ibrahim. We dont have a Queen. She is one of the King wives. In bahrain we have 3 mans:

1. The king: hamad Bin Isa Alkhalifa
2. Crown Prince: His Royal Highness Prince Salman Bin Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa
3. The prime minster: Khalifa Bin Salman Alkhalifa

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Almosawi86 (talk • contribs) 12:38, 8 November 2009 (UTC)

Bahrain is not smaller than King Fahd airport

King Fahd International Airport is 16 square km, it cannot possibly be larger than Bahrain. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Idiopathic (talk • contribs) 20:43, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

According to this article itself, the airport is 780 km² (300 sq mi) is size, which is larger than Bahrain. Regards. Rehman⁽⁺⁾ 01:49, 1 January 2010 (UTC)

Hmm it doesn't look bigger here though

I agree the Bahrain Island is much bigger than King Fahad Airport, please remove such point — Preceding unsigned comment added by Aldoy (talk • contribs) 19:02, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

Amnesty International Report 2009 on Bahrain, a Non-Arab Country

Bahrain cannot be a member state of the Arab League, and Arabic cannot be the official language of the insular state. The indigenous majority speaks Farsi, adhere to Shia Islam, and cannot accept the Pan-Arabist tyranny that English colonial gangsters worked hard and for long to install via their stooges, namely the besotted, ignorant, barbaric and alien elements who migrated from the peninsula in order to be properly used by their anti-Islamic masters.

In the same way the entities formed in the Asiatic part of the Middle East after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of Kemal Ataturk in Turkey are all fake, and the various existing pseudo-states belong in fact to Turkey, Bahrain belongs to Iran. It is true that for a brief period of time, Bahrain belonged to the Ottoman Empire, but this was the result of the fact that Istanbul attempted to save parts of the Islamic world from the clutches of the criminal Anglo-French colonials after the collapse of the Qajar imperial dynasty of Iran.

In fact, the ethnic background of the Bahrainis is Aramaean, as following many millennia of Sumerian, Elamite and Babylonian presence, Aramaean merchants made of the island an important outpost in the sea route to China already during the late Axhaemenid times. The island was inhabited by Aramaeans for approximately a millennium, down to the moment of the Islamic explosion.

Nestorian Christians constituted the outright majority of the local population in the first decades of Islam; this in itself bears witness to Aramaean presence and identity. Within the vast Sassanid Empire of Iran, the Nestorians were all Aramaeans or Central Asiatic populations, because the Persians never accepted Oriental Christianity.

Today, the basic issues that determine the sociopolitical developments in the colonial tyranny of Bahrain are similar with the problems existing in Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE, namely historical identity, cultural and religious individuality, linguistic integrity, and social representativeness. As long as these critical issues are not dealt with, Bahrain will remain a Pan-Arabist tyranny imposed by an alien dynasty that proved to be the puppets of the enemies of both, Islam and Oriental Christianity.

I herewith republish the Amnesty International report 2009 on Bahrain that illuminates some of the dramas lived in the fake model of progress and prosperity, the insular Hell of Bahrain.

Amnesty International Report 2009 on Bahrain

http://thereport.amnesty.org/en/regions/middle-east-north-africa/bahrain

Head of state: King Hamad bin ´Issa Al Khalifa

Head of government: Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa

Death penalty: retentionist

Population: 766,000

Life expectancy: 75.2 years

Under-5 mortality (m/f): 14/14 per 1,000

Adult literacy: 86.5 per cent

Amnesty International Report 2009 on Bahrain

The authorities failed adequately to investigate allegations of torture and other ill-treatment of detainees. Government critics were briefly detained and several websites were closed down. One person was executed. The government indicated it would decriminalize certain publishing offences, reduce legal discrimination against women and introduce other reforms.

Background

There were renewed, violent protests in March and April by members of the majority Shi´a population against what they alleged was discrimination, especially by the police and security forces, and the stalling of political reforms initiated by the King in 2001 and 2002. One policeman was killed and scores of people were arrested. Nineteen faced trial. Thirteen others who were charged with arson and rioting were among a group pardoned by the King in July but still detained at the end of the year. They were reported to have refused to sign official documents authorizing their release because they considered that all charges against them should be dropped unconditionally.

Excerpt

"A number of websites were closed because they contained articles criticizing the royal family..."

International scrutiny and legal developments

Bahrain´s human rights record was examined in April under the UN Human Rights Council´s system of Universal Periodic Review.

The government made significant human rights commitments, including to establish a national human rights institution, withdraw reservations made when Bahrain ratified certain human rights treaties, reform family and nationality laws, and adopt new legislation to protect women domestic workers and lift restrictions on the press.

Torture and other ill-treatment

Detainees held in connection with violent protests in the villages of Karzakhan and Demestan in March and April alleged that they were tortured and otherwise ill-treated by police. They said they were held incommunicado for a week during which they were made to stand for excessive periods, blindfolded and beaten.

Fifteen people arrested in December 2007 and accused of burning a police car and stealing a weapon alleged that they were tortured. Five were sentenced to between five and seven years´ imprisonment by the High Criminal Court in July; six were sentenced to one year in prison but were pardoned by the King; and four were acquitted. Among those acquitted was Mohammad Mekki Ahmad, aged 20, who was detained incommunicado for 12 days at the Criminal Investigations Department in Manama, where he alleges he was tortured by being suspended, beaten and subjected to electric shocks. A medical report, requested by the High Criminal Court and submitted to it in April, noted that some of the defendants had marks on their bodies which might have been caused by torture. The government failed to order an independent investigation into the torture allegations.

Freedom of expression

The government proposed to amend the 2002 Press and Publications Law to remove imprisonment as a penalty for offences such as criticizing the King and "inciting hatred of the regime". The Shura (Consultative) Council added amendments in May. All the amendments were submitted to the House of Representatives.

In June, Abdullah Hassan Bu-Hassan was detained for three days in connection with his writings in The Democrat, published by the Democratic National Action Society. The same month, seven contributors to the Awal website and al-Wifaq Islamic Society´s newsletter were briefly detained and accused of "inciting hatred and insulting the regime". A number of websites were closed because they contained articles criticizing the royal family and the government.

In November, the Interior Minister was reported to have announced that Bahraini nationals, including parliamentarians and NGO members, would be required to seek advance authorization before attending meetings abroad to discuss Bahrain´s internal affairs, and that those who failed to do so could be imprisoned or fined.

In May 2010 Al-Jazeera was forbidden to operate after reporting on negative events in Bahrain, not to the liking of the government. The government claimed that Al-Jazeera was Zionist. Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1980191.stm —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.95.8.191 (talk) 13:54, 20 May 2010 (UTC)

Death penalty

A Bangladeshi national, Mizan Noor Al Rahman Ayoub Miyah, convicted of murdering his employer, was executed in August.

In December, Bahrain abstained on a UN General Assembly resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions.

Amnesty International visits

An Amnesty International delegate visited Bahrain in October and met government officials, parliamentarians, human rights activists, journalists, former detainees and lawyers. In November an Amnesty International delegate attended a follow-up meeting hosted by the Bahraini government on the implementation of the recommendations of the UN Universal Periodic Review session in April.

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/108663 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.234.33.210 (talk) 10:51, 25 February 2010 (UTC)

No Reliable Sources

This article only seems to have three sources, one un-referenced at the end of the article, only via in-text referencing. Advise on whether I should add the Refimprove template: {{Refimprove}} --Aviationalyours (talk) 14:34, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

 Done It can't hurt to have one, though I'm not sure how you counted only 3 ref's, {{Reflist}} is showing 93 inline citations at the moment. Jeffrey Mall (talk • contribs) - 14:48, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

That's true, I checked the article and it showed 93 references. Which is really weird since a few hours ago I could only count two in {{Reflist}} and three in the body (in text referencing.) I assume that was a server glitch, my computer not properly loading the page or simply my human error. Aviationalyours (talk) 18:21, 6 March 2010 (UTC)

Hello. I've removed the tag; gone through the article and dont see any instance where a citation is needed. So far, it looks like there are enough citations. If you still feel like it's not enough, please tag (the citation needed tag) inline, so its more easier to find what needs citation. Thanks. Rehman⁽⁺⁾ 13:10, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

Neutral Point of View

Article should be flagged for writing that sounds sarcastic and ill informed under the Politics heading. Rehman⁽⁺⁾ 02:56, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

 Done. Rehman⁽⁺⁾ 02:56, 15 April 2010 (UTC)

Area Field

Where is the Area field? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.49.23.150 (talk) 02:26, 22 April 2010 (UTC)

Arafat day?

Under the Holidays topic - Arafa is not quite the same as Arafat. 124.181.33.214 (talk) 04:35, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

Summer weather grossly underestimated

I am an expat living in Bahrain, and I can confirm that the climate report on this wiki is grossly underestimating summer temperatures. The article states "summer temperatures may reach about 35 °C (95 °F)." These lowball statistics are often distributed by Bahrain's tourism ministry as not to scare away potential tourists. In fact, the summer temperature in Bahrain averages about 43 C (110 F) and occasionally reaches as high as 50 C (122 F). A simple search of Weather.com will confirm these readings. Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Apstyle (talk • contribs) 10:00, 31 July 2010 (UTC)

Also, if you got to climate on the Bahrain page, it says it is located to the "west of mainland Saudi Arabia"... It's to the east! Fix this! Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.188.105.25 (talk) 23:30, 7 August 2010 (UTC)

 Done for both. Rehman⁽⁺⁾ 00:58, 8 August 2010 (UTC)

Bahrain Vision 2030

How come there is absolutely no mention of the Bahrain Economic Vision 2030 anywhere in this article? http://www.2030.bh & http://www.bahrainedb.com —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bahrainvision2030 (talk • contribs) 09:10, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

One of the links you provided (2030.bh) doesn't work, although perhaps it is a technical problem, so I will try again later. I read the other link and the associated PDF - all I can see are plans and aims but nothing concrete. If you can find some evidence that any of these plans have been or are being put into action, then feel free to boldly add it yourself but bear in mind that it should be just a short mention together with a reliable source. Green Giant (talk) 10:28, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

Link

What happened to the link for the Coat of Arms? It's still there for the flag. Fry1989 (talk) 07:10, 20 October 2010 (UTC)

Audio

I don't see the point having an audio of the country's name said in American English. If any, it should be the Arabic pronunciation TFighterPilot (talk) 13:52, 10 December 2010 (UTC)

Is there an Arabic pronounciation .ogg file? That would very useful to have in this article. I don't know if another language wiki has that file already. 141.151.176.205 (talk) 02:55, 19 February 2011 (UTC)

Picture caption

The "Woman with Orange hair" in the picture looks an awful lot like a woman in an orange headscarf. I don't mean to be pedantic, it's just that if the idea is that it's a picture that illustrates that women in Bahrain wear what they please, I don't think it accomplished that. --CptBuck (talk) 09:11, 3 January 2011 (UTC)

I agree. I have changed the text accordingly, hopefully this is better. Kind regards. Rehman 09:40, 3 January 2011 (UTC)

Minor edit

First paragraph of 'Politics' section, needs capitalization: "have forty members. the first round" (delete this topic when fixed) Blnewbold (talk) 01:36, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

 Fixed. Thanks. Rehman 09:37, 2 February 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from 80.164.115.194, 15 February 2011

{{edit semi-protected}} |population_density_rank = 7th should be changed to |population_density_rank = 10th according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population_density Thanks, JCW 80.164.115.194 (talk) 02:58, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Done. Good request, thanks. :) Banaticus (talk) 00:49, 19 February 2011 (UTC)

Map of Bahrain.svg

This map is crap. Surely the whole point of the outlined oblong (the one in the whole-world map) is that it outlines the area covered by the bigger map. This one does not - it's got nearly all of India in it). Even at 2000px, I have no idea where Bahrain is. In fact, I'm going to delete it to stir up some attention. Mannafredo (talk) 09:36, 17 February 2011 (UTC)

I added this one found on Commons; another useful map is here. TJRC (talk) 01:33, 19 February 2011 (UTC)

In a hilarious turn of events, the crap svg map got replaced with a low-resolution png which, despite being low-resolution, actually provided some insight as to where this country is. The low-resolution version was subsequently "superseded" by a "superior" svg version: namely the same crap map that we had before! Draconx (talk) 20:53, 15 June 2011 (UTC)

Al Khalifa ascendancy to Bahrain and their treaties with the British

It is just a minor spelling/grammatical error. In the final sentence of the final paragraph under the section "Al Khalifa ascendancy to Bahrain and their treaties with the British" begins "The Britain's interest..." It should read either "Britain's interest...." or "The British interest..." ant321 17.02.2011Ant321 (talk) 11:05, 17 February 2011 (UTC)

Got it. Nice one, Ant. Mannafredo (talk) 12:16, 17 February 2011 (UTC)

Illustration

The choice of illustrations is pretty poor. Is the taking of photos forbidden in that country?--dunnhaupt (talk) 18:04, 17 February 2011 (UTC)

Military

As of 2-17-11 CNN reports that there are 6,000 U.S. military personnel at the U.S. base in Bahrain, not 1,500 as stated in the article. Also the ref #81 is not currently accessible to verify the stated 1,500 figure. Let us resolve this. Thanks.  uriel8  (talk) 22:59, 17 February 2011 (UTC)

The number of US personnel at a place like that will be fluid. Operation Iraqi Freedom (do they still call it that?) guys in and out. Best just to talk about the US military's involvement with Bahrain but say no numbers, I think. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 132.160.54.208 (talk) 15:45, February 17, 2011

Absolute monarchy

The description of Bahrain as an absolute monarchy is contentious. The country has a constutution, cabinet, parliament, and a balance of power between the king, royal family, tribal chiefs and parliament. To simply dismiss the government as being an "absolute" monarchy is wrong. It is not a "constitutional monarchy" either (i.e. strictly limited powers). I suggest changing it to simply "Monarchy". — Preceding unsigned comment added by JohnC (talk • contribs) 21:18, February 17, 2011

2011 Protests

Anyone have the time to create a page detailing the 2011 protests in Bahrain? Should be ample sources for information. RantingMrP (talk) 10:36, 19 February 2011 (UTC)

Read why Wikipedia is not a newspaper. When a encyclopedic summary is a available in an independent source, it may be added. patsw (talk) 17:24, 20 February 2011 (UTC)

POV of the History Section

This reads like a long explanation of why Bahrain should be part of Iran rather then a balanced report of the history of Bahrain. Is this factually correct or does this section need some severe TLC and closer adherence to NPOV?? Spartaz ^Humbug! 16:39, 19 February 2011 (UTC)

Trade goods of the 18th and 19th century

This article and History of Bahrain allude to other trade goods supporting its economy beyond slaves and pearls before the oil economy arose in the 20th century. What were the goods originating in Bahrain or were traded there in the 18th and 19th centuries? patsw (talk) 17:20, 20 February 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from Faszfejü, 21 February 2011

{{edit semi-protected}}

Please correct typo "loose" to "lose" in the following passage:

"In 1927 Reza Shah in a letter to the Allied Nations Community demanded the return of Bahrain. Britain knew well that her weakened domination over Bahrain would be equal to loose control all over the Persian Gulf, decided to bring under control at any cost the uprisings of people of Bahrain. To achieve this the British elements encouraged conflicts between Shiite and Sunni in Bahrain."

Faszfejü (talk) 07:33, 21 February 2011 (UTC)

 Done And I fixed the grammar errors in the sentence, too. Qwyrxian (talk) 14:31, 21 February 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from Mustafa85, 9 March 2011

{{edit semi-protected}}

The Alwasat dead link is active, please update it:

http://www.alwasatnews.com/1658/news/read/222276/1.html

This is the article about Indian people in Bahrain

Mustafa85 (talk) 08:53, 9 March 2011 (UTC)

 Done Thanks! Reaper Eternal (talk) 14:17, 9 March 2011 (UTC)

Etymology of Bahrain

According to [[1]], the name "Bahrain" referred to the eastern mainland Arabia until the 16th century at least. Literally, Bahrain is the Arabic term for "two seas" that is true but it is doubtful what is wrote in the current article that "two seas", refer to the freshwater springs that are found within the salty seas surrounding the nowadays little island of Bahrain. It's just a contemporary urban legend. Please correct. Thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.119.228.239 (talk) 03:40, 20 March 2011 (UTC)

 Done It appears that someone else has fixed this already as I can't find the instance you refer to. If I missed it, please repost. Sincerely, Veriss (talk) 04:23, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Grammar

This article is in urgent need of improvement in the English used. 06:00, 20 March 2011 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 211.225.34.158 (talk)

I am doing a major copyedit on the article now. ► Philg88 ◄ ^talk 02:23, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Pre-islamic History section

The text states (now al-Hafuf province, Saudi Arabia), Batan Ardashir (now al-Qatif province, Saudi Arabia) but I can find no reference to these provinces as part of Saudi Arabia. Since this article will be put forward for WP:GA and WP:FA review this needs to be sorted out. My geographical knowledge of this area is limited. Does anyone know what these names should be? ► Philg88 ◄ ^talk 02:23, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Our Arabic linguist friends may need to help us sort that out since we may be foiled by limitations of the English transliteration of Arabic names. Veriss (talk) 04:27, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from Tomseattle, 23 March 2011

{{edit semi-protected}} In the first sentence of the section 'Islamic Conversion and Portuguese Control', the words 'who sought' should be replaced with 'seeking'.

Tomseattle (talk) 09:55, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

 Done ManishEarth^{Talk • Stalk} 12:02, 23 March 2011 (UTC)

Pronunciation

The pronunciation used here is incorrect. From the pronunciation I've heard, the letter h is not silent; additionally, the a sound is not correct (it is [a] not [ɑ]). I might be wrong, but this is by far the pronunciation I've heard most often. 96.26.213.146 (talk) 00:16, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

Hmm, the "h" is definately silent in British English. As for [a] or [ɑ] I'm not familiar with the IPA so I can't comment. ► Philg88 ◄ ^talk 00:38, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

Well, I've heard (at least from Aljazeera) [ħ] instead of a silent h. Don't they use British English? 96.26.213.146 (talk) 01:34, 24 March 2011 (UTC)

I recorded the Arabic pronunciation of the word Bahrain

Do note that I am not an Arab. I'm Israeli who doesn't actually speak Arabic. However, with so many dialects of Arabic, I'm sure I got at least one right. I'd like to get some feedback before adding it to the article. TFighterPilot (talk) 17:26, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

Spot on accurate! Joyson Noel ^{Holla at me!} 17:32, 18 June 2011 (UTC)

Sunni Shia ratio

This ratio has been changed since the past 15 yrs, the Sunni now are 63%. So please check your references if they were just blogs and compare it to the official government websites. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Aldoy (talk • contribs) 18:59, 26 March 2011 (UTC)

Wow, so Saudi troops killed so many Shia in the last 15 days of these 15 years? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.32.159.219 (talk) 12:04, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

The percentage of Sunni in bahrain is 57.6% and Shi'a is 49%. according to the below article:

Dialogue, Representation, and Statistics

On the eve of Bahrain's National Dialogue, whose first substantive sessions will begin tomorrow, Al-Jazeera is reporting a very peculiar story. It is based on a "leaked" report outlining the findings of an official study purportedly commissioned by the Bahraini government in the second half of 2010. What is this study, you ask? A study of the ethno-religious (Sunni-Shi'i) composition of Bahrain.

As one of the notable results of my 2009 mass survey of Bahrain was precisely this--a first direct estimate of the ratio of Sunni and Shi'i citizens in Bahrain since the country's very first census in 1941--naturally I was intrigued by this new government "study." And a bit surprised. For, according to the Al-Jazeera summary, the government study found that Bahraini Shi'a comprise a slight minority of the country's population, at 49%, a figure quite removed from my own estimate of around 57.6%.

In addition to this 49% Shi'a / 51% Sunni ratio, the Al-Jazeera summary also reports a few other "facts" revealed by this study, undertaken by Bahrain's Central Informatics Organization. Among these are that

the document emphasizes that the procedures for naturalization did not influence the sectarian division during any period by more than 1%, because it was limited and conducted in accordance with the conditions set for citizenship. That is to say, this 51% Sunni majority was not achieved artificially by political naturalization, as contended by many in- and outside Bahrain, but by some natural demographic process. Indeed, the study says,

the document shows that the primary beneficiary since the [new] Bahraini citizenship law passed in 1963 are wealthy Persian Shi'is and not the followers of the Sunni sect. And similarly:

The document adds that, after he took power in March 1999, King Hamad ordered the return of exiled citizens abroad, and the number of returnees with their families during the period from 2001 to 2003 [amounted] to about 10,607 citizens, mostly of the Shiite community. The conclusion of the report is thus clear:

the lack of accurate and scientific data [has led] many international institutions, foreign governments, and the media to believe for 20 years that the demographic distribution in the Kingdom is divided into a Shiite majority (60% -70%) and a Sunni minority (30% -40%). But they were wrong! And this leaked government report proves it.

Yet a few things make one suspicious of such results.

In the first place, the timing and content of the leak are simply very convenient. One day before a contentious national dialogue is to begin in which a Shi'a-dominated opposition is poised to demand substantive political reform in large part on the basis of their majority demographic status, we have a leaked report saying that "Oops, you aren't a majority after all! And by just one percentage point!"

1) Similarly, as highlighted in the quotations above, the related "conclusions" and emphasis of the report are equally convenient. These go something like this:

Sunnis have "historically" been, and still are, a majority in Bahrain. (The report notes that "historical estimates [average] about 56.2% [Sunni], compared with 43.8% of the Shiite community, a small difference making it difficult to divide the people to majority and minority [groups]." Never mind that the last Bahraini census to report ethno-religious affiliation (in 1941) put the ratio at 53% Shi'i / 47% Sunni.)

2) The government has never engaged in political naturalization. 3) Indeed, if anything, Bahrain's generous naturalization policy has done more to bring Shi'a to Bahrain, not Sunnis. 4) Thus, not only are Shi'a misguided to claim political disenfranchisement on majoritarian grounds and as a result of political naturalization, but the only reason they have reached even their current demographic status of 49% of the population is the government's liberal immigration policy.

The other suspicious thing about the findings of the study are its procedure, as reported by Al-Jazeera. The latter tells that the study was based on "analysis of historical documents and studies and field surveys"; records of the Sunni awqaf (religious endowments); family and marriage records; religious conversion records; and "data from the intelligence and security services.". — Preceding unsigned comment added by Walik2020 (talk • contribs) 05:43, 7 July 2011 (UTC)

In other words now a days Sunni polulation in bahrain is higher than shi'a, please adjust your article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.236.243.92 (talk) 07:24, 7 July 2011 (UTC)

Reference:

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/bahrain/bahrain-denies-sect-based-population-report-1.833374 http://bahrainipolitics.blogspot.com/2011/07/dialogue-and-statistics.html

RE 'Britain encouraging conflicts between Shiite and Sunni'. Sources needed.

The Article says at one point: "Britain believed that weakened domination over Bahrain would cause her to lose control all over the Persian Gulf, and decided to bring uprisings amongst the people of Bahrain under control at any cost. To achieve this they encouraged conflicts between Shiite and Sunni Muslims in Bahrain."

Does the author of these lines or others have a reliable source for this? Cjannink (talk) 09:52, 1 April 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from 112.216.16.19, 28 April 2011

Under the section of etemology there is a typo, I think. "Concpt" should probably be, 'concept.' 112.216.16.19 (talk) 07:28, 28 April 2011 (UTC)

 Done — Bility (talk) 18:47, 28 April 2011 (UTC)

What's a "leftist"?

In the section about the 1990s uprising in Bahrain, there's a line which says:

"The "1990s Uprising in Bahrain" or "1990s Intifada" was a rebellion in Bahrain between 1994 and 2000 in which leftists, liberals and Islamists joined forces."

Are these "leftists" left-handed people? --Theresonator (talk) 11:10, 13 June 2011 (UTC)

Leftists are people who believe in equality. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.249.250.227 (talk) 14:08, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Theresonator: I am guessing that perhaps English isn't your first language and that you're therefore not necessarily familiar with all the colloquialisms that might come your way — understandable (although I had always thought this particular figure of speech, which originated in French and is used in at least one unrelated language I know of, transcended language barriers). In any case, "leftists" refers to the political left.

I must admit, however, that I'm a bit confused also. It seems redundant to say both "leftists" and "liberals." If you mean two distinct things by these two terms — for example, if by "liberals" you mean what are also sometimes called "neoliberals," or if by "leftists" you're referring to communists or revolutionaries as opposed to more moderate "liberals" or reformers — I would suggest being more precise as readers of some nationalities might be confused. Mia229 (talk) 05:57, 9 September 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from Avenger717, 18 June 2011

hello i do not know how to do this, hopefully this time im doing it right. i would like you to please add one more family to the paragraph in the bahrain article.

from: These families and tribes included the Al Khalifa, Al-Ma'awdah, Al-Fadhil, Al-Mannai, Al-Noaimi, Al-Sulaiti, Al-Sadah, Al-Thawadi, and other families and tribes.

to:These families and tribes included the Al Khalifa, Al-Ma'awdah, Al-Fadhil, Al-Mannai, Al-Noaimi, Al-Sulaiti, Al-Sadah, Al-Thawadi, Al-Shurooqi, AL-hiddi and other families and tribes.

please contact me on my email (redacted) if i did it wrong. thank you

Avenger717 (talk) 00:59, 18 June 2011 (UTC)

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. ^Avic_ennasis @ 17:30, 16 Sivan 5771 / 18 June 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from Daprezjer, 21 July 2011

In the sentence that ends ", the two seas referred to lie to the east and west respectively" (I believe this is the first sentence of the third paragraph?), "respectively" is added in error. You only add "respectively" if you're referring to things that were listed before, such as "the [whatever] sea and the [whatever] sea that lie to the east and west, respectively." So in this case, the word should just be dropped.

Daprezjer (talk) 20:03, 21 July 2011 (UTC)

 Done Removed the word Jnorton7558 (talk) 01:30, 22 July 2011 (UTC)

The Dawsari Tribe section is unbeliveable

Shi’ites in Bahrain also known as "Baharna" are the natives who lived in the Historical Region of Bahrain, spreading north to Basra and Kuwait in addition to the East province of Saudi Arabia (Al-Hassa, Al-Qatif). The Baharna are descended from Arabian tribes who had lived in the region since pre-Islamic times; prominent among them in those times were the tribes of Banu Abdul Qays and Rabi'a.

Ṣa‘ṣa‘ah ibn Suhān and Zaid ibn Suhan (brothers) are companions of ‘Alī bin abi Talib (Prophet mohammed's cousin) from Abdul Qays Tribe. They were supporters of Ali when he was the Calipha during the first muslim civil war which divided the muslims into two parties Ali's (Shiítes) and Al-Kulafa' Al Rashdeen (Sunni's). Both of their graves are in Bahrain and are still visited by Shi'ites to pay their respect. This was in the late 600's, Which is arround ~1200 years from what this section claims that Al Dawsari tribe first brought shi'ites to Bahrain in (1800's AD)?????

Also Maitham Al Bahrani a famous Bahrani shiíte scolar (died in 1280 AD).

I cant see how Al Dawsari clan arrival to bahrain is linked to the arrival of shi'ite! And cant see the relation between the 1800's arrival of the dawsari clan and the 2011 protests!!?? would love to see the sources for this section, I couldnt find a single line that made me feel I am reading history it was more like reading someones BLOG!~~ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.25.135.121 (talk) 15:12, 26 August 2011 (UTC)

Daprezjer is completely correct. The section on al Dawsari Tribe is completely non-factual. There is no historical evidence whatsoever, in any form of literature that supports it. I am extremely shocked and surprised that it has not been removed already as a an act of historical vandalism. The section was also added recently and has sectarian underpinnings in its historical distortion. It should be removed completely. — Preceding unsigned comment added by RRMMRRMM (talk • contribs) 21:32, 27 September 2011 (UTC)

So done. Chipmunkdavis (talk) 05:48, 28 September 2011 (UTC)

Bahrain was declared a kingdom

by whom? Grammatically, isn't it stylistically poor to use the passive voice? Shouldn't it read, "Bahrain declared itself a kingdom" or "Bahrain's emir declared himself king" or something?70.59.144.114 (talk) 06:21, 4 October 2011 (UTC)

I had a think about this. You are of course correct, but the current phrasing neatly sidesteps the constitutional/political issues in a neutral way.Bromley86 (talk) 01:35, 4 March 2012 (UTC)

Edit request from , 12 October 2011

Please change the Persian Gulf to Arabian Gulf because as known Bahrain is a GCC country and there is a joint heritage between all of the GCC countries that is very clear when studying the history of the area. 188.116.231.160 (talk) 19:21, 12 October 2011 (UTC)

 Not done The wikipedia page is Persian Gulf. Name changes should be discussed there. Chipmunkdavis (talk) 22:25, 12 October 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from alismart, 13 December 2011

Please update: Population of Bahrain as of the official census released by the government of Bahrain (http://www.census2010.gov.bh/results_en.php) says total population in 2010 was 1,234,571 of which 666,172 were non Bahraini — Preceding unsigned comment added by Alismart (talk • contribs) 07:57, 13 December 2011 (UTC)

Is this worth a mention?

Bahrain is the most densely populated country in the world after the three City-states. Therefore Bahrain is the most urbanised nation which is not a city state. No mention of this is made anywhere on this article. This source [2] says that Bahrain consists entirely of one metropolitan area, which doesnt contain the country's entire population which leads me to doubt the source's reliablity but is used as a source in a number of other articles. So is this worth a mention and if so what section should it be put in? Eopsid (talk) 16:14, 31 January 2012 (UTC)

I think this should be included. Bahrain indeed has very high density; 1461/km2 [3] in 2009. In Addition to that, one should keep in mind that opposition groups claim that about 40% of Bahrain land is private properties to the royal family, so this means even more density at residential areas. For example density of Manama is 5,304/km2 and 1961/km2 in Muharraq Island while it's almost 0 in Umm an Nasan and Hawar Islands each is almost same size as Muharraq. Bahraini Activist ^{Talk to me} 17:12, 31 January 2012 (UTC)

I have gone ahead and added this information to the Geography section as a similiar peice is in the Geography section of the England article. Eopsid (talk) 19:52, 31 January 2012 (UTC)

I shifted it to demographics to go with other population information. CMD (talk) 20:15, 31 January 2012 (UTC)

AlJazeera documentary mention

The Al JAzeera documentary "Bahrain - Shouting in the Dark", available on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaTKDMYOBOU), could be referenced in the link section for balance. It should be citet and linked to in the section on the 2011 popular uprising. 83.249.105.199 (talk) 11:52, 17 February 2012 (UTC)

Etymology

As far as I know, Bahrain does not mean "the two seas", but "of the two seas". Bahrain is the genitive dual of bahr (sea), meaning "of the two seas", not the nominative dual "the two seas" (bahran). This makes more sense, as the official title means "the kingdom OF the two seas", not "the kingdom the two seas". This is in accordance with Modern Standard Arabic. I am not an expert, but a beginning student of Arabic. However, please make this change if the above can be confirmed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Piedijon (talk • contribs) 20:14, 19 March 2012 (UTC)

File:Protesters fests toward Pearl roundabout.jpg Nominated for Deletion

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Error corrections

Please note that re: Bahrain under the section "Iran drops claim" the name of Mr. Vittorio WINSPEARE GUICCIARDI is erroneously spelled Winspeare-Giuccardi.

The u and I are inverted In GUICCIARDI and no hyphen between the two surnames is used.

Also, he was not "manager" of the UN office in Geneva, but Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva and Under Secretary General of the UN.

109.55.6.113 (talk) 10:31, 22 April 2012 (UTC) Antonio Winspeare Guicciardi

Edit request on 22 April 2012

add hyperlink to Qal'at al-Bahrain

Balacs (talk) 15:43, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

 Done, thanks! CMD (talk) 15:55, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

Add Bahrain is the second most endangered due to flooding from global warming ..."

Add Bahrain is the second most endangered due to flooding from global warming ..." First is the Marshall islands, third is the Maldives, followed by Kiribati, and fifth the Bahamas. Ranking reflects percent of population at risk; University of Southampton UK source.

resource: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BUE/is_5-6_144/ai_n58473630/

published in November 14 & 28, 2011 The New York Times Upfront

99.181.148.5 (talk) 20:18, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

What about on a wp article on Ranking of Nations threatened by global warming and resulting climate change List"? 99.109.127.232 (talk) 22:57, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

Maybe reference it at Mountain of Smoke, the highest point in Bahrain? 97.87.29.188 (talk) 22:22, 24 April 2012 (UTC)

Why? — Arthur Rubin (talk) 22:28, 24 April 2012 (UTC)

Why, not? 99.181.137.83 (talk) 05:50, 25 April 2012 (UTC)

Why no response Special:Contributions/Arthur Rubin? 99.181.148.206 (talk) 03:22, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

The burden of proof is on the editor adding material; wrong question. — Arthur Rubin (talk) 05:42, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

You're correct on the "wrong question, of Why. 99.112.213.15 (talk) 05:22, 29 April 2012 (UTC)