Portal:Bahrain

The Bahrain Portal

Flag of the Kingdom of Bahrain	Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Bahrain

Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in the eastern part of Arabian Peninsula in West Asia. Situated near the western shore of the Persian Gulf, the country comprises a small archipelago of 33 natural islands and an additional 50 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which makes up around 80 percent of the country's landmass. Bahrain is situated between Qatar and the northeastern coast of Saudi Arabia, to which it is connected by the King Fahd Causeway. The population is 1,588,670 as of 2024, of whom 739,736 (46.6% of the population) are Bahraini nationals, and 848,934 are expatriates (53.4% of the population). Bahrain spans some 760 square kilometres (290 sq mi) and is the third-smallest nation in Asia after Maldives and Singapore. The capital and largest city is Manama.

The area that straddles the present-day territory of Bahrain was once the site of the ancient Dilmun civilisation. It has been famed since antiquity for its pearl fisheries, which were considered the best in the world into the 19th century. Bahrain was one of the earliest areas to be influenced by Islam, during the lifetime of Muhammad in 628. Following a period of Arab rule, Bahrain was ruled by the Portuguese Empire from 1521 until 1602, when they were expelled by Shah Abbas the Great of the Safavid Iran. In 1783, the Bani Utbah and allied tribes captured Bahrain from Nasr Al-Madhkur. It has since been ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family, with Ahmed al Fateh as Bahrain's first hakim.

In the late 19th century, following successive treaties with the British, Bahrain became a protectorate of the United Kingdom. In 1971, it declared independence. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a semi-constitutional monarchy in 2002, and Article 2 of the constitution made sharia a principal source for legislation. In 2011, the country experienced protests inspired by the regional Arab Spring. The ruling Sunni Muslim Al Khalifa royal family has been criticised for violating the human rights of groups including dissidents, political opposition figures, and its Shia Muslim population.

Bahrain is known as one of the first post-oil economies in the Persian Gulf, the result of decades of investing in the banking and tourism sectors. Many of the world's largest financial institutions have a presence in Manama, but oil revenues still constitute a significant part of its government budget. It is recognised by the World Bank as a high-income economy. Bahrain is a member of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. It is a Dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. (Full article...)

More about Bahrain...

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

The COVID-19 pandemic in Bahrain was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have reached Bahrain on 21 February 2020. By December 2022, the country reported over 696,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, resulting in 1,548 deaths.

Bahrain's handling of the pandemic received praise from the World Health Organization, which launched a case study into the Kingdom's response in 2022. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

edit

Selected picture - show another

Bahrain International Airshow

The United Arab Emirates Air Force Al Fursan demonstration team perform at the Bahrain International Airshow at Sakhir Airbase in Manama, Bahrain, January 2016

More selected pictures

edit

Related portals

Religions in Bahrain

Arab states

Other countries

edit

Things to do

Here are some tasks awaiting attention:

Article requests : Request a new article about Bahrain
Photo : Request a new picture about Bahrain
Stubs : Expand stub articles listed at Category:Bahrain stubs
Join the Bahrain Wikiproject : and help us expanding our topics

Good article - show another

This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.

Sheikh Abdul Amir al-Jamri (/ˈɑːbdəl əˈmɪər æl ˈdʒɑːmri/ ^ⓘ AHB-dəl ə-MEER al JAHM-ree; Arabic: شيخ عبدالأمير الجمري; 1 March 1938 – 18 December 2006) was one of the most prominent Shia clerics and opposition leaders in Bahrain. He was also a writer and a poet.

Born in the village of Bani Jamra, al-Jamri became a Hussaini khatib (Shia preacher) after finishing primary school. At the age of 21, he began his Islamic studies, first in Bahrain and later in the religious institute of Al Najaf, Iraq, where he remained for 11 years. He returned to Bahrain in 1973 and was elected to the newly formed parliament. The parliament was dissolved two years later by the Emir, Isa bin Salman al-Khalifa, after it had rejected the State Security Law. In 1977, al-Jamri was appointed as a judge at the High Religious Court of Bahrain. He held the position until 1988, when he was briefly arrested due to his criticism of the government. (Full article...)

List of Good articles

General images - show another
The following are images from various Bahrain-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The National Library of Bahrain at Isa Cultural Centre (from Bahrain)
Image 2Manama souq in 1965 (from Bahrain)
Image 3Artistic depiction of Nasr Al-Madhkur in Bushehr (from History of Bahrain)
Image 4The National Union Committee members in 1954 (from History of Bahrain)
Image 5The view from outside one of the entrance gates at the Avenues (from Bahrain)
Image 6Bahraini protests against the ruling Al Khalifa family in 2011 (from Bahrain)
Image 7A map showing the locations of Bahrain's ancient burial mounds. There are an estimated 350,000 burial mounds. (from Bahrain)
Image 8The Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa house is an example of traditional architecture in Bahrain. (from Bahrain)
Image 9An artisan making pottery using the traditional mud and water mixture on a revolving wheel (from Bahrain)
Image 10A mixed martial arts event in Bahrain (from Bahrain)
Image 11King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa meets American president Donald Trump in May 2017. (from Bahrain)
Image 12The emir Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa heads the opening session of the first conference on the formation of a union of the Gulf emirates in February 1968. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 13The podium ceremony at the 2007 Bahrain Grand Prix (from Bahrain)
Image 14Several people held a sit-in in solidarity with human rights activist Nabeel Rajab. (from Bahrain)
Image 15Manama Harbour, c. 1870 (from Bahrain)
Image 16The Bahrain national football team playing Australia in June 2009, in a World Cup qualifier (from Bahrain)
Image 17Dilmun burial mounds in 1918. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 18The Khamis Mosque in 1956. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 19The Sasanian Empire at its greatest extent c. 620, under Khosrow II (from History of Bahrain)
Image 20GDP per capita development in Bahrain (from Bahrain)
Image 21Coronation of Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa as the Hakim of Bahrain in 1933. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 22Over 100,000 of Bahrainis taking part in the "March of Loyalty to Martyrs", honoring political dissidents killed by security forces, on 22 February. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 23Overview of Manama, 1953 (from Bahrain)
Image 24A facsimile of a letter sent by Muhammad to Munzir ibn-Sawa al-Tamimi, governor of Bahrain, in AD 628 (from Bahrain)
Image 25The Portuguese Fort of Barém, built by the Portuguese when they ruled Bahrain from 1521 to 1602 (from Bahrain)
Image 26The Portuguese Fort in 1870. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 27Sidade de Baren depicted in Lázaro Luís' 1563 map of Arabia (from History of Bahrain)
Image 28Map of Manama in 1926. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 29The coronation of Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa as the Hakim of Bahrain in February 1933 (from Bahrain)
Image 30Inside Riffa Fort (from History of Bahrain)
Image 31Topography (from Bahrain)
Image 32Bahrain province before Independence, was simultaneously part of Iran, a British protectorate whilst at the same time it was ruled "locally" by the Al-Khalifa tribe. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 33A 1745 Bellin map of the historical region of Bahrain (from Bahrain)
Image 34Bahrain was the tenth most water-stressed country in the world in 2022. (from Bahrain)
Image 35The new terminal of the Bahrain International Airport (from Bahrain)
Image 36The cities of Muharraq (foreground) and Manama (background) (from Bahrain)
Image 37The Persian Empire in the Sassanid era on the eve of the Arab conquest, c. 600 AD (from Bahrain)
Image 38The proposed federation of Arab emirates (from History of Bahrain)
Image 39Manama skyline as viewed from Juffair (from Bahrain)
Image 40Facsimile of the letter written by Muhammed to the ruler of Bahrain. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 41Location of the Dilmun burial mounds in Bahrain. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 42First Oil Well, Bahrain. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 43The King Hamad American Mission Hospital. (from Bahrain)
Image 44The Manama Souq on Bahrain National Day (from Bahrain)
Image 45Al-Hidaya Al-Khalifia Boys school. (from History of Bahrain)
Image 46Greater flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) are native to Bahrain. (from Bahrain)
Image 47Female students at the University of Bahrain dressed in traditional garb (from Bahrain)
Image 48The First Oil Well in Bahrain, with oil first being extracted in 1931 (from Bahrain)
Image 49The Tree of Life, a 9.75 metre high Prosopis cineraria tree that is over 400 years old (from Bahrain)
Image 50The Bahrain Fort, location of Dilmun artifacts. (from History of Bahrain)

edit

Did you know - show another

... that racing driver Sam Bird beat Felipe Nasr by eight-hundredths of a second to win the 2013 Bahrain GP2 Series round sprint race, the closest margin of victory in GP2 Series history?

More did you know...

More Did you know (auto-generated)

... that hurdler Ahmed Hamada was the Bahraini flagbearer for two Olympic Games – sixteen years apart?
... that Bahraini author Fatema Al Harbi, the first non-government Bahraini to visit Israel, faced death threats upon her return to Bahrain?
... that the first Chinese driver to race in Formula One debuted at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix?
... that between 2006 and 2007, Stacy Hollowell worked for basketball teams in Qatar, China, Bahrain and Lithuania?

edit

WikiProjects

WikiProject Bahrain

edit

Topics

edit

Recognized content

This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Bahrain}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.