Islam in Bahrain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Islam is the state religion in Bahrain with the majority of the population practicing Shia Islam. However, due to an influx of immigrants and guest workers from non-Muslim countries, such as India, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, the overall percentage of Muslims in the country has declined in recent years. According to the CIA's The World Factbook, the country's 2001 census indicate that only 81.2% of Bahrain's population was Muslim (Shi'a and Sunni), 5% were Christian, and 14% practiced other Asian or Middle Eastern religions like Hinduism. Among Muslims, Shias form around 80% of the total Muslim pop. of Bahrain. Sunnis are mainly Hanafi while Shias are mainly twelvers. Some Ibadi and Maliki Muslims also live on the island.
Foreigners, mostly from South Asia and other Arab countries, as well as Europeans and Americans, constitute approximately 38 percent of the total population. Roughly half of foreigners are non-Muslim, including Christians, Jews, Hindus, Bahá'ís, Buddhists, and Sikhs.
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[edit] History of Islam in Bahrain
Prior to Islam, the inhabitants of Qatar and Bahrain were idol worshippers. They worshipped idol gods like Awal. Islam swept the entire Arabian region in the 7th century, overturning the idol worshippers. Mohammad sent his first envoy Al-Ala'a Al-Hadrami to Munzir ibn Sawa Al Tamimi, the ruler of the historical region of Bahrain, which extended the coast from Kuwait to the south of Qatar including Al-Hasa, Qatif, and the Bahrain Islands, in the year 628 AD, inviting him to Islam. Munzir, responding to the Prophet’s call announced his conversion to Islam and all the Arab inhabitants of Bahrain and Qatar including some Persians living in Qatar also became Muslim, heralding the beginning of the Islamic era in Bahrain and Qatar. Consequently, Al Ala Al-Hadrami was appointed by the Prophet as his representative in Bahrain to collect the Jizya. Al Ala' ruled the region from 633 till his death in the year 635.
Bahrain was the centre of the Qarmatian rebellion in the tenth century, which was an attempt to create a utopian society in the islands by a millenarian Ismaili sect. The Qarmatians rejected private property and sought to develop a society based on reason, tolerance and equality. They turned Bahrain into the strongest state in the Gulf and possibly, wider Middle East. They raided Baghdad and in 930 sacked Mecca and Medina, desectrating the Zamzam Well with the bodies of Hajj pilgirm and taking the Black Stone with them back to Bahrain where it remained for twenty years. The Qarmatians were eventually defeated by their Ismaili counterparts, the Abbasids in 976 and afterwards their power waned.
[edit] Islam in Bahrain today
The Al Khalifa ruling family and its supporting tribes adhere to the Maliki school of Islamic jurisprudence, while the Huwala Sunnis follow the Shafi'i school. There is also a large population of the South Asian Sunni Muslim residents who follow the Hanafi school. The Shia in Bahrain (Baharna and Ajam) are overwhelmingly Twelvers, following the Jafari school.
The Constitution states that Islam is the official religion and also provides for freedom of religion; however, there were some limits on this right. In the past, the Government did not tolerate political dissent, including from religious groups or leaders; however, in 2001 the King pardoned and released all remaining political prisoners and religious leaders, including Shi'a clerics. Members of other religions who practice their faith privately do so without interference from the Government and are permitted to maintain their own places of worship and display the symbols of their religion.
The country observes the Muslim feasts of Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr, the Prophet Muhammad's birthday, and the Islamic New Year as national holidays. The Shi'a religious celebration of Ashura is a 2-day national holiday. The Shi'a stage large public processions during the holiday. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Government tried to prevent many of these processions and put many participants in jail. The Government no longer hinders these processions. The Ministry of Information provides full media coverage of Ashura events.
Political liberalisation under King Hamad has seen Islamist parties contest Bahrain's elections and become a dominant force in parliament. Sunni Islamist parties, the salafist Asalah and the Muslim Brotherhood affiliated Al-Menbar Islamic Society are two of the largest parties in parliament, while the Shia Islamist Al Wefaq is expected to become the dominating party after 2006's general election having boycotted the 2002 poll.
Although there are notable exceptions, the Sunni Muslim minority enjoys a favored status. Sunnis dominate Bahrain politically and economically. They live in the cities, where they often make up the majority. Shi'as are almost totally dominant in the rural areas. Sunnis often receive preference for employment in sensitive government positions and in the managerial ranks of the civil service. Shi'a citizens do not hold significant posts in the defense and internal security forces, although they are allowed to be employed in the enlisted ranks. In 2002, the Government licensed for the first time a school to provide students with a Shi'a religious curriculum designed to educate the next generation of Shi'a religious scholars.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Conspiring Against the Shia of Bahrain, Bahrain Center for Human Rights, October 2006
- Discrimination in Bahrain: The Unwritten Law, Bahrain Center for Human Rights, September 2003
- Video: Political Naturalization in Bahrain (2002)
- At least Bahrain is trying to address Sunni-Shiite divisions, Daily Star editorial, 12 May 2006 (from Bahraini.tv website)
[edit] References
- State Department [1]
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