Bahrain

It is an island country in the Persian Gulf in Southwest Asia and has the smallest area in the Middle East and the Arab world .[5] It is a country. The capital is Manama (المنامة). The official name of the country is the Kingdom of Bahrain (مملكة البحرين), which is a constitutional monarchy , but in reality, it is an absolute monarchy because the monarch's authority as stipulated in the constitution is very large .

The name of Bahrain (ال) means 'two seas' in Arabic . Originally, the Bahrain refers to the northern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, which encompasses the entire United Arab Emirates from the vicinity of Kuwait.

It gained independence from Britain in 1971 as the State of Bahrain, and changed its name to its current name when it was declared a kingdom in 2002. The current king is Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa (حمد بن عيسى بن سلمان آل خليفة) of the Khalifa dynasty (آل خليفة) and the crown prince is Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, president of the Asian Football Confederation .

The official language is Arabic , but English is also widely used due to the influence of British colonial rule and foreigners.

1783 ~ 1820

1820-1932

1932-1972

1972 ~ 2002

February 14, 2002 ~

It is similar to the Qatari flag. However, unlike Qatar, it is red in color, shorter in length, and has fewer teeth.

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'Our Bahrain (بحريننا)' was adopted in 1971 by an unknown composer, and the lyrics were revised when the kingdom was declared in 2002.

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Schurinatji Temple, the oldest Hindu temple established by Bahrain's Indian community. It shows Bahrain's relatively generous religious view.

The monarchy pursues secularism, and it is quite open, perhaps due to the narrowest land area and small population among Arab countries. Although it is an Arab country, like Jordan , alcohol and pork can be freely sold and eaten. Many Arab and Islamic countries, including neighboring conservative Saudi Arabia and Qatar, come to Bahrain to drink and eat pork. In particular, residents of Dammam, a city adjacent to Bahrain, visit frequently.

Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1976. In a 2011 survey, 42% of Bahrainis said homosexuality cannot be justified, and 18% said they could not accept homosexuals as neighbors. This is lower than the world average at the time of 48% and is the lowest among the Arab regions. #

Women's political and economic participation is also quite free in the Arab world, and there are many women who wear Western-style clothing because they are not forced to wear hijab, burka, chador, or niqab. In particular, royal women often wear Western clothing. Since the latest American Hollywood movies are released fairly quickly, many Saudis come on day trips to see movies in Saudi Arabia , the only Islamic country in the world where theaters were banned until 2018. Although there are not many people, there are many movie theaters, so there are often seats left, so on-site ticket reservations are a must.

Like neighboring countries, the obesity rate is high; it is estimated that 37-38% of the total adult population is obese.

Although it is an island country, it is connected to the neighboring country Saudi Arabia through the 'King Fahd Causeway', so it is possible to travel by land and go to Dammam . There is an artificial island called 'Passport Island' in the middle of the bridge, which serves as a border checkpoint and customs office between the two countries. This bridge, with a total length of 25 km, was opened in 1986 as a four-lane road and passes through the island of Umm an Nasan. After planning to build this bridge, it had such an impact that Bahrain changed its left-hand traffic to the right-hand side, and the traffic volume was so high that they even planned to build a second bridge at a cost of $3 billion. There are no plans to build a bridge with Qatar , another neighboring country .

Although society is relatively open, political oppression is severe. Bahrain is a constitutional monarchy , but the monarch's authority stipulated in the constitution is so great that it is in fact an absolute monarchy . In Bahrain's parliament, the Senate (40 members) is appointed by the king and the House of Representatives (40 members) is directly elected by the people. As with all Arabian Peninsula countries, the authority of the parliament is small and the king can convene and dissolve it at his discretion.

2011 Documentary made by Aljira.

Human rights abuses are also severe. Even during the Arab Spring of 2011, peaceful protesters demanding political democratization and direct elections were brutally suppressed and the democratic system was not accepted. In particular, Bahrain prohibits criticism of the king and royal family, censors the press, social media, and the internet, and even allows torture. In 2011, Foreign Policy, a diplomatic magazine, ranked Bahrain's King Hamad third among eight "unpleasant allies of the United States" and even described him as " one of the bad guys supported by the United States ." #

Due to the influence of Iran, which ruled Bahrain from the Achaemenid Empire until the establishment of the Khalifa Dynasty in 1783, the majority of residents are Shia , but most of the royal family and social leaders are Sunni , as they are from tribes in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula . 52% of the population is Shiite and Sunni is 28%. For this reason, the political situation is more unstable compared to other Arab monarchy countries. In the 2014 general election, many Sunni candidates were elected due to the Shia opposition party's refusal to participate. # Because of this situation, the anti-government forces demanding democratization in Bahrain are mostly Shiites.

Political repression is ongoing, and in July 2016, the Bahrain government disbanded the Shia political party Al-Wefaq and confiscated all of its assets. # And on January 15, 2017, three Shia prisoners were executed. # When three Shia prisoners were executed, protests erupted in Manama and became more violent, leading to arson at a tourist site. # In 2017, the Bahrain government began amending the constitution to include provisions allowing civilians to be tried in military trials. # When protests broke out again in May 2017, Bahrain police responded strongly by firing live ammunition to suppress the protests. At this time, five protesters were killed, dozens were injured, and 286 were arrested. # On January 28, 2019, a Bahrain court sentenced a Shiite leader who led the 2011 Arab Spring anti-government protests to life imprisonment. # On April 16, 2019, a Bahrain court found 139 people guilty on terrorism charges. # On July 27, 2019, the Bahrain government executed two prisoners on terrorism charges, despite opposition from the United Nations. # Jinju Square, the epicenter of the 2011 protests, is an area hated by Shiites.[7] It was renamed 'Al-Farooq', the nickname of the orthodox Caliph Umar , and converted into a crossroads .

The forces demanding democratization are mostly anti -western and anti -American Islamists who oppose secularism. It is especially known to have been strongly influenced by Iran , the Shi'ite Islamic fundamentalist state . If the current monarchy falls in this situation, Bahrain is like Iran , so it is clear that it will be the anti -Seobang Shi'a Islamic fundamentalist Republic, so it is never good for Sunni countries as well as in the West. In particular, Saudi Arabia has never been able to see Bahrain's democratization due to concerns about separate independence demands by stimulating the Eastern Shi'ite, which is inherited. The United States also has a base of the US Navy fleet in Bahrain, and Bahrain is in the axis of the Middle East control, and it is not good for the demand for democratization that publicly reveals anti -western and anti -American propensity. On the other hand, when Islamic took office, it is clear that the international community is silent about the human rights suppression of the country, because it is clear that the free social atmosphere will be rejected and the free social atmosphere will be regressed . Since the Syrian Civil War , the Western world is a simple example of changing awareness of the democratization of the Arab region and implicitly tolerated by secularist dictatorship.

At the pressure of the United Nations and the Western countries, Nabil Lazav, a Shi'a -leading human rights activist in Bahrain, was released on June 9, 2020. #

Defense is carried out by the Bahraini Army . Its official name is the Bahrain Defense Force.

Its total strength is approximately 13,000 and consists of the Royal Bahrain Army, the Bahrain Royal Navy, the Bahrain Royal Air Force and the Royal Guard.

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Soccer is popular, but the results are not that spectacular. In the 1989 FIFA U-17 World Cup quarterfinals in Scotland, a youth tournament, they advanced to the semifinals by beating favorite Brazil 4-1, but have never advanced to the FIFA World Cup finals.

The Bahrain Premier League is in operation.

As Qatar, which is conservative with regard to alcohol , hosts the FIFA World Cup , many tourists from overseas will come, so it is said that they expect the liquor business, a major industry in Bahrain, to improve as it is nearby and drinking is not a problem at all. It is said that the Bahrain royal family plans to expand accommodation facilities, provide late-night service, and make alcohol more lenient in various ways during the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar to minimize inconvenience to foreign tourists.

I was tricked by people pretending to be FIFA agents into playing against a fake Togo national soccer team . Shortly after winning the game 3-0, the Togolese Football Federation announced that it had never sent a national team to Bahrain. And the fake Togo players ran away, and it is presumed that they were aiming to emigrate overseas.

In 2004, the F1 Grand Prix was held at the Bahrain International Circuit for the first time in a Middle Eastern country, and it has been adjusted to host the F1 opening race from 2021.

At the Asian Games, it emerged as a significant powerhouse in track and field, and with naturalized athletes at the forefront, it ranked second in track and field for two consecutive competitions in 2014 and 2018. Her medals come almost exclusively from track and field, and at the 2018 Games she even threatened China with 10 6 6.

One of the 18 teams at the International Cycle Federation UCI is Bahrain Victorius. As the name suggests, it is a cycle team sponsored by Bahrain. The supporting bikes include Scultra, Riacto and Time Warp TT in Merida.

About 74% of the population is Muslim, with approximately 52% Shiite and 28% Sunni. Others include Christianity at 12% and Hinduism at 6%. However, this is what happens when foreigners, such as Indians who came to work in the labor industry, are included.[8] If you look at statistics just for Bahrainis, 99.7% are Muslims.

The Khalifa dynasty , the royal family of Bahrain , believes in the Sunni sect, which is a minority compared to the Shia sect in the overall population, and Shia forces are mainly the main force in the pro-democracy protests. The Khalifa dynasty oppresses Shiites, and in the 2011 Arab Spring protests, many civilians, including Shiites, were killed due to police brutality. At the time, the Bahrain government demolished dozens of Shiite mosques, claiming that they were "illegal structures." However, when the reporter checked the mosques before demolition, it was said that they had been well-maintained for decades. #[9]

The Bahrain government announced that the number of Sunnis has increased to 51%, which is more than the Shia at 49%, but statistics from overseas organizations still show that Shiites are overrepresented by about 20%, and the Bahrain government's report appears to be a kind of propaganda. However, it is true that the Shia population is decreasing, but it is said that the defection is mainly occurring among young people as the Bahrain government implements policies that benefit Sunnis.

Bahrain received a score of 1 out of 4 for religious freedom in 2026. #

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