1990s Uprising in Bahrain

The 1990s Uprising in Bahrain or 1990s Intifada was an Islamist led uprising that took place in Bahrain between 1994 and 2000.

Like other uprisings during the 1990s, the Bahrain intifada stated aims were for democratic reform, and it was considered as the first movement in the Arab world where leftist, liberals and Islamists joined forces on a common ground calling for restoration of the dissolved parliament and suspended constitution. Although attempts were made to portray a totalitarian nature of an Islamic fundamentalist ideology, the events and the moderate discourse of their leaders attracted support from all human rights organizations (such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Article 19, UN Human Rights Sub-Commission, etc) as well as from members of parliament in the UK, France, USA and the EU. The final aim of the uprising was the reinstatement of the 1973 constitution and respect of human rights in Bahrain, while preserving plurality of opinions in society.

The uprising began with a picket by unemployed people in front of the ministry of labour in June 1994. Later on, the security forces used an event where stoning of a leading team (SAAD Track Club) took place in November 1994 in the Bahrain Marathon Relay race after they ran along a road alongside a conservative village, to launch attacks on the Shiite community of Bahrain. This had been an attempt to stain the image of the pro-democracy uprising and to divert attention from the core issues.

The uprising was characterized by extreme forms of suppression, riots, stoning and bomb attacks. Over forty people were killed, mostly by the security forces. Most of the events of the Uprising took place in the villages and towns of the Baharna population. There was a strong racial component in the violence, with the security forces targeting Shiite areas, and many of those being targeted by bomb and arson attacks third world immigrants The rhetoric of the pro-government quarters attempted to stain the image of the uprising, but at the end, the situation had to improve following the longest ever uprising in the history of Bahrain.

The violence generally subsided after King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa carried out political reforms after he ascended to the throne in 1999.

See also

• History of Bahrain
• Torture in Bahrain
• Human rights in Bahrain
• Bahrain Freedom Movement

References

• Carlton TV documentary about Bahrain Uprising
• Channel 4 video of Bahrain Uprising
• Video: Bahrain - The Story of Constitutional Uprising
• Rebellion in Bahrain, Middle East Review of International Affairs, March 1999
• List of terrorist incidents in Bahrain MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base
• Amnesty International: A human rights crisis (Sep 25, 1995)
• Human Rights Watch: Routine Abuse, Routine Denial: Civil Rights and the Political Crisis in Bahrain (June 1997)
• Khalaf, Abdulhadi (1998). Contentious politics in Bahrain: From ethnic to national and vice versa University of Lund.
• Fakhro, Munira A. 1997. “The Uprising in Bahrain: An Assessment.” In The Persian Gulf at the Millennium: Essays in Politics, Economy, Security, and Religion, eds. Gary G. Sick and Lawrence G. Potter: 167-88. New York: St. Martin’s Press. ISBN 0-312-17567-1
• Bahry, Louay. The Socioeconomic Foundations of the Shiite Opposition in Bahrain. Mediterranean Quarterly 11.3 (2000) 129-143.
• Al-Mdaires, Falah. Shi'ism and Political Protest in Bahrain. Domes. Milwaukee: Spring 2002. Vol. 11, Iss. 1; pg. 20
• Wiktorowicz, Quintan ed Islamic Activism, A Social Theory Approach Indiana University Press, 2004
• Voice of Bahrain (mouthpiece of Bahrain Freedom Movement)
• 'Ali Rabea Discusses the Nineties', Alwaqt newspaper: Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, last