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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. Since achieving independence in 1971, Bahrain has maintained friendly relations with most of its neighbours and with the world community. It generally pursues a policy of close consultation with neighbouring states and works to narrow areas of disagreement.
Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa is the King of Bahrain. He has been the monarch of Bahrain since 6 March 1999, initially reigning as emir, and from 14 February 2002, as the first king. He is the son of Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the previous and first emir. The country has been ruled by the Al Khalifa dynasty since 1783.
Maryam Yusuf Jamal is a Bahraini middle-distance runner. She is the first Bahraini athlete to win an Olympic medal, a gold in the 1500m women's race, in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. This was also the first Olympic medal won by a woman representing a Gulf state. Born in Ethiopia, 2005 was her first full season. She gained the national record and ran the fastest 3000 m of the year, with a time of 8:28.87 at a race in Oslo. Jamal is a two-time world champion in the 1500 m, having won at the 2007 and 2009 World Championships in Athletics.
Bahrain sent a delegation to compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, which were held from 15 September to 1 October 2000. This was the fifth consecutive Summer Olympics the Kingdom took part in. The delegation consisted of four athletes: sprinter Mariam Mohamed Hadi Al Hilli, middle-distance runner Mohamed Saleh Naji Haidara and short-distance swimmers Dawood Yosuf Mohamed Jassim and Fatema Hameed Gerashi. Al Hilli and Gerashi's inclusion in the Bahraini delegation was the first time in history a Gulf Arab nation had sent female athletes to the Olympic Games. All four did not progress beyond the initial heats of their respective competitions. Bahrain's best performance came from Haidara and Jassim who placed seventh in the heats of the men's 800 metres and the men's 100 metres freestyle. Gerashi was disqualified for a false start in the women's 50 metres freestyle and Al Hilli came eighth in her heat in the women's 100 metres.
The culture of Bahrain is part of the historical region of Eastern Arabia. Thus, Bahrain's culture is similar to that of its Arab neighbours in the Persian Gulf region. Bahrain is known for its cosmopolitanism, Bahraini citizens are very ethnically diverse. Though the state religion is Islam, the country is tolerant towards other religions: Catholic and Orthodox churches, Hindu temples as well as a (now-defunct) Jewish synagogue are present on the island.
Bahraini Jews constitute one of the world's smallest Jewish communities. Today the community has a synagogue, which though disused is the only one in an Arab Persian Gulf state, and a small Jewish cemetery. Various sources number Bahrain's Jewish community as being from 36 to 50 people. Nancy Khedouri states that there are currently 36 Jews in Bahrain. Larry Luxner states that in 2006 there were 36 Jews in Bahrain. As of 2008, 37 Jews were believed to be in the country. According to a 2017 Article on Bahrain the number of Jews in Bahrain is about 30Currently, Bahraini Jews are not allowed to visit Israel, although, officially, Bahrain agreed to cease adherence to the economic boycott of Israel in exchange for a free-trade agreement with the United States in 2004.
Mansoor al-Jamri is a Bahraini columnist, author, human rights activist and former opposition leader. He is the editor-in-chief of Al-Wasat, an Arabic language independent daily newspaper. He is also the second son of the Shia spiritual leader Sheikh Abdul-Amir al-Jamri, who died in 2006.
The cinema of Bahrain is small as its lacks support from the government and the private sector. There are many short films produced by individual filmmakers, and about five feature films in Bahrain's history.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Bahrain:
Ruqaya Al-Ghasra, is a Bahraini athlete. She was one of the first women to represent Bahrain at the Olympic Games, by taking part in the women's 100 metres sprint at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is a sovereign state in the Persian Gulf. The island nation comprises a small archipelago centered around Bahrain Island, situated between the Qatar peninsula and the north eastern coast of Saudi Arabia, to which it is connected by the 25-kilometre (16 mi) King Fahd Causeway. According to the most recent 2010 census, Bahrain's population is over 1.2 million, of which around half are non-nationals. At 780 square kilometres (300 sq mi) in size, it is the third-smallest nation in Asia after the Maldives and Singapore. The capital and largest city is Manama.
Sayed Mohamed Adnan is a Bahraini footballer who once played for the national team, and currently playing for Al Hidd.
Al-Wasat, also Alwasat, is an Arabic-language daily newspaper in Manama, Bahrain. Al-Wasat was generally regarded as the only independent newspaper in Bahrain. The newspaper ran for 15 years, during which is provided reporting unique to Bahrain.
Bahrain is divided into four Governorates: the Capital, Northern, Southern and Muharraq. Until September 2014, there were five, when the Central Governorate was abolished.
A variety of sports in Bahrain are popular and widespread. Association football is the most popular sport in the country. Other traditionally-popular sports include basketball, volleyball and handball. Sports such as horse racing, mixed martial arts and rugby union have gained popularity over the past few decades.
The Bahraini uprising of 2011 was a series of anti-government protests in Bahrain led by the Shia-dominant and some sunni minority Bahraini Opposition from 2011 until 2014. The protests were inspired by the unrest of the 2011 Arab Spring and 2011–12 Iranian protests and escalated to daily clashes after the Bahraini government repressed the revolt with the support of Gulf Cooperation Council and Peninsula Shield Force. The Bahraini protests were a series of demonstrations, amounting to a sustained campaign of non-violent civil disobedience and later some violent resistance in the Persian Gulf country of Bahrain. As part of the revolutionary wave of protests in the Middle East and North Africa following the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi in Tunisia, the Bahraini protests were initially aimed at achieving greater political freedom and equality for the majority Shia population, and expanded to a call to end the monarchy of Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa following a deadly night raid on 17 February 2011 against protesters at the Pearl Roundabout in Manama, known locally as Bloody Thursday.
Women in Bahrain are generally more publicly active than women in other Arab countries. They are highly educated, and are represented in all the major professions, women’s societies, and women’s organizations. They have the right to vote, and around one-quarter of women in Bahrain hold jobs outside of the household. Bahraini Women's Day is annually celebrated on December 1.
Bahrain competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This nation marked its eighth appearance in the Summer Olympics. However, there were concerns about the nation's participation to the games due to its recent political uprising.
The international reactions to the Bahraini uprising of 2011 include responses by supranational organisations, non-governmental organisations, media organisations, and both the governments and civil populaces, like of fellow sovereign states to the protests and uprising in Bahrain during the Arab Spring. The small island nation's territorial position in the Persian Gulf not only makes it a key contending regional power but also determines its geostrategic position as a buffer between the Arab World and Iran. Hence, the overlap in trolls and geostrategic implications aid in explaining international responses to the uprising in Bahrain. Accordingly, as a proxy state between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Bahrain's domestic politics is both wittingly and unavoidably shaped by regional forces and variables that determine the country's response to internal and external pressures.
Bahrain competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This nation marked its ninth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.
References
- ↑ "Azza al-Qassimi to hoist the Kingdom\'s flag during the inauguration of the London Olympics 2012". Bahrain News Agency. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- ↑ "Bahrain athletes step up preparations". Daily Tribune. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- 1 2 "Azza sets new Arab shooting record". Gulf Daily News. 5 August 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
- ↑ "Azza Alqasmi 2012 Olympic Profile". London 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
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