Page 93 - Records of Bahrain (6)_Neat

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Unrest among Baharinah of Manama
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of 3hiao in public affaire, no Shiao sitting on the courto
(apart from the Shia Qadis), omall number of Shiao employed
in the municipalitieo, (on the other hand the young Sunni
Arabs complain that there are too many Shiao working in
senior Government pooto, this is hecauoe the Shia employees
oticlc to their pooto and many of the Sunnis leave Government
pooto and go in for trade) oppression of Bahama tenants

of gardens by Arab landlordo and general discrimination
againot Shiao (which as far ao the Government io concerned
dooo not exist).
The matter has ito roots for deeper than the present
dispute. Before the Khalifah came the Shiao owned moot of
the gardens and property in Bahrain, they v/ere the rulero
of Bahrain, though frequently under subjection to outoide
powers* When the Khalifah occupied Bahrain they took from
the Shiao their gardens and for more than a century the
Shiao v/ere severely oppressed by the Arab rulers* Only
during the laot 30 ycaro have the Shia Bahama been regarded

as politically on on equality with the Arabs, which ie a
situation which many of the Arabs reoent. During recent
years the Shiao have been givon every encouragement and
they take their placeo on public bodies in the same way as
the Arabo although the number of thorn who are suitable for
public positiono is few. numerically about half the
population are Shiao, including the Persian community, but
financially they count for very little in comparison to the
Arabo and the foreignoro. Their case is one of acute
inferiority complex; having been depressed for many years
they aro now aggreooive if they think that they are not
being rightly treated. Perhaps when the present older
generation of Sunni and Shia Arabo has died out this ill
fooling betv/een the tv/o scats will cease.