Editing Islam in Bahrain

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{{Islam by country}}

[[Islam]] is the state religion in [[Bahrain]].  Due to an influx of immigrants and guest workers from [[India]], the [[Philippines]] and [[Sri Lanka]], the overall percentage of Muslims  has declined since the late 20th century. Bahrain's 2010 census indicated that 90.2% of the population was Muslim.<ref name=census2010>{{cite web |title=General Tables |url=http://www.census2010.gov.bh/results_en.php |publisher=Bahraini Census 2010 |access-date=2013-03-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320104234/http://www.census2010.gov.bh/results_en.php |archive-date=2012-03-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The 1941 census to include sectarian identification reported 55% as [[Shia Islam|Shia]] and 45 per cent as [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] of the Muslim population.<ref>Qubain, Fahim Issa (1955) “Social Classes and Tensions in Bahrain.” The Middle East Journal 9, no. 3: 269–280, p. 270</ref>

Unofficial sources estimate sectarian identification to be approximately 51% [[Sunni]] and 49% [[Shia]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> There has been a decline in the Shia Muslim population and a massive increase in Sunni Muslim population in Bahrain as of 2021 due to the increasing rates of political naturalisation of Sunni migrants, as well as Sunni Muslims in Bahrain having a high proportion of young people, and a high fertility rate.<ref name=":2" />

==History==
{{See also|Shia in Bahrain}}
[[File:Khamis Mosque 1956.jpg|thumb|The [[Khamis Mosque]] in 1956.]]
Prior to Islam, the inhabitants of [[Qatar]] and Bahrain practiced Arabian paganism. In 628 AD  Muhammad sent his first envoy [[Al-Ala'a Al-Hadrami]] to [[Munzir ibn Sawa Al Tamimi]], ruler of the [[Bahrain (historical region)|historical region of Bahrain]], which extended from the coast from [[Kuwait]] to the south of Qatar including [[Al-Ahsa Oasis|Al-Hasa]], [[Qatif]], and the Bahrain Islands, to engage in [[da'wah]] and spread the teachings of Islam.<ref>Arnold, Thomas. The Preaching of Islam: A History of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith, 2nd ed., London: Constable, 1913</ref> Munzir subsequently converted to Islam as did many  of his  subjects.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.diwan.gov.qa/english/qatar/Qatar_History.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080122071350/http://www.diwan.gov.qa/english/qatar/Qatar_History.htm|title=History of Qatar|publisher=Amiri Diwan|archive-date=22 January 2008}}</ref>

The origins of [[Shia Islam]] in Bahrain can be traced back to 656–661 AD, the caliphate reign of [[Ali ibn Abi Talib]]. The Islamic prophet [[Muhammad]] appointed Aban Ibn Sa'id Al As ({{langx|ar|أبان ابن سعيد العاص}}) as governor of Bahrain during his lifetime. Aban was a major supporter of Ali's right to the caliphate, a position that was endorsed by the inhabitants of Bahrain including the influential Bani [[Abdul Qays]] tribe.<ref name="Tajir">{{cite book |last1=Al-Tajir |first1=Mahdi |title=Language & Linguistic In Bahrain |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781136136269 |pages=33–4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=euezAAAAQBAJ&pg=PR4 |access-date=30 October 2019 |language=en}}</ref> The [[Khamis Mosque]] is believed to be the oldest mosque in Bahrain, with its origin dating back to the reign of Caliph [[Umar II]].

[[File:Muhammad Bahrain letter facsimile.png|thumb|right|300px|The letter sent by [[Muhammad]] to [[Munzir ibn Sawa Al Tamimi]], the governor of Bahrain at the time.]]

The [[Ismaili]] [[Shia]] sect known at the [[Qarmatians]] seized Bahrain in 899 AD, making it their stronghold and base of operations. They [[Qarmatian invasion of Iraq|raided Iraq]] and in 930 [[Sack of Mecca|sacked Mecca]], desecrating the [[Zamzam Well]] with the bodies of [[Hajj]] pilgrims and taking the [[Black Stone]] with them back to Bahrain where it remained for twenty years. The Qarmatians were eventually defeated by the [[Abbasids]] in 976 and afterwards their power waned.

The defeat of the Qarmatian state saw the gradual wane of their revolutionary brand of Ismaili Islam. Instead, under a process encouraged by Sunni rulers over the next four hundred years, Twelver Shia Islam became entrenched. According to historian [[Juan Cole]], Sunnis favoured the quietist [[Twelver]] branch of Shi'ism over the Qarmatians and promoted its development in Bahrain.<ref>Juan Cole, Sacred Space and Holy War, IB Tauris, 2007 pp32</ref> In the 13th century, there arose what was termed the 'Bahrain School', which integrated themes of philosophy and mysticism into orthodox Twelver practise. The school produced the theologians Sheikh Kamal al-Din Ibn Sa’adah al Bahrani (d. 1242), Sheikh Jamal al-Din ‘Ali  ---
ibn Sulayman al-Bahrani (d. 1271), and Sheikh [[Maitham Al Bahrani]] (d. 1280).<ref>Ali Al Oraibi, Rationalism in the school of Bahrain: a historical perspective, in Shīʻite Heritage: Essays on Classical and Modern Traditions by Lynda Clarke, Global Academic Publishing 2001, p. 331</ref>

==Present day (2021)==
Unofficial sources estimate sectarian identification to be approximately 55% [[Shia]] and 45% [[Sunni]].<ref name=":0">[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]]: [], 1973, retrieved 14 February 2021</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Joyce|first=Miriam|title=Bahrain from the Twentieth Century to the Arab Spring|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2012|isbn=978-1-137-03178-5|location=New York, NY|pages=121}}</ref> There has been a massive increase in Sunni Muslim population in Bahrain as of 2021 due to the increasing rates of political naturalisation of Sunni migrants, as well as Sunni Muslims in Bahrain having a high proportion of young people, and a high fertility rate.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=abbas |date=2006-09-04 |title=Political Naturalization in Bahrain: Various Violations of Citizens and Foreign Workers Rights |url=https://bahrainrights.net/?p=243 |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=BCHR |language=en-US}}</ref>
[[File:Gudaibiya Mosque.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Gudaibiya]] mosque, in [[Manama]].]]
[[File:Adliya Mosque, Bahrain.jpg|thumb|300px|Adliya mosque in Bahrain]]
The country observes the Muslim feasts of [[Eid al-Adha]], [[Eid al-Fitr]], Muhammad's birthday ([[Mawlid]]), and the [[Islamic New Year]] as national holidays.

"Political liberalisation" under [[Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa|King Hamad]] has seen Islamist parties contest [[Elections in Bahrain|Bahrain's elections]] and become a dominant force in [[Council of Representatives of Bahrain|parliament]]. Sunni Islamist parties, the [[Salafi]] [[Asalah]] and the [[Muslim Brotherhood]] affiliated [[Al-Menbar Islamic Society]] are two of the largest parties in parliament, while the Shia [[Al Wefaq]] was expected to become the dominating party after 2006's general election having boycotted the 2002 poll. In the [[Bahraini parliamentary election, 2006|2006 election]] Wefaq received the backing of the Islamic Scholars Council which helped it win seventeen of the eighteen seats it contested. In the [[Bahraini parliamentary election, 2010|2010 election]], they increased their representation by one seat, winning all the constituencies they contested, to take 18 of the 40 available parliamentary seats.<ref>[http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=290557 Independents the biggest winners] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403090737/http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=290557 |date=2015-04-03 }} – Gulf Daily News, 1 Nov 2010</ref> Since then, Shias have no representatives in the [[Rubber stamp (politics)|Bahraini rubber stamp parliament]].

The government made successful efforts to erode the Shia citizen majority and tip the country's demographic balance in favor of the Sunni minority, which has now become the majority. This was due to the governmental recruitment of foreign-born Sunnis to serve in the security forces and become citizens. Meanwhile, hundreds of Bahrainis have had their citizenship revoked in recent years, including a number of Shiite leaders and activists. Since 2011, the government has maintained a heavy security presence in primarily Shia villages. Security personnel restrict the movements of Shia citizens and periodically destroy their property.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2018/bahrain |title=Bahrain &#124; Freedom House |access-date=2018-11-23 |archive-date=2018-07-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719054455/https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2018/bahrain |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Islam|Bahrain}}
* [[Demographics of Bahrain#Religion|Religion in Bahrain]]
* [[Beit Al Qur'an]]
* [[Muharram in Bahrain]]
* [[Rashid Al Marikhi]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Islam in Bahrain}}
* [https://careeropportunities4u.com/bahrain-job-expatriate-current-openings-2020/ Bahrain Career Opportunities] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112082433/https://careeropportunities4u.com/bahrain-job-expatriate-current-openings-2020/ |date=2020-01-12 }}
* [https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/35495.htm US State Department]
* [http://www.bahrainrights.org/node/652 Conspiring Against the Shia of Bahrain] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017234143/http://www.bahrainrights.org/node/652 |date=2017-10-17 }}, Bahrain Center for Human Rights, October 2006
* [http://www.bahrainrights.org/node/29 Discrimination in Bahrain: The Unwritten Law] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019172419/http://www.bahrainrights.org/node/29 |date=2017-10-19 }}, Bahrain Center for Human Rights, September 2003
* [http://www.bahrainrights.org/node/467 Video: Political Naturalization in Bahrain (2002)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019170121/http://www.bahrainrights.org/node/467 |date=2017-10-19 }}
* [https://archive.today/20060615090150/http://bahraini.tv/?p=590 At least Bahrain is trying to address Sunni-Shiite divisions], [[Daily Star (Lebanon)|Daily Star]] editorial, 12 May 2006 (from [http://Bahraini.tv Bahraini.tv] website)

{{Demographics of Bahrain}}
{{Asia in topic|Islam in}}

[[Category:Islam in Bahrain| ]]