Page 197 - Histories of City and State in the Persian Gulf_Neat

‘Disorder’, political sociability and the urban public sphere 177

promulgation of the Bahrain Nationality and Property Law in 1937, a
segment of the foreign population became a new focus for dissent. As non-
Arabs and non-nationals, British officials, European residents and the
Indians and Persians employed in the modern sector of the economy
were increasingly construed as instruments of state oppression, threat-
ening the welfare of the nation and hindering its political maturity. The
currency and strength of these feelings are described by an academic
observer who visited Bahrain in 1952–3:

[Nationality] manifests itself in two ways: first, negatively in a desire to expel the
foreigner (this has a considerable appeal: it is concrete, intellectually easy to grasp,
can be used as a rallying cry, and above all does not conflict with established social
patterns); and second, positively in a confused ideal of Pan-Arab and Pan-Islamic
union. No clear distinction is drawn between the two last concepts and the terms
are used interchangeably … through this intellectual device the two groups [Sunnis
and Shi‘is] can now present a common front against foreigners to protect their
rights and interests, whether real or imaginary. (my emphasis) 70

As the new ‘intellectual device’ which shaped the political imagery of
ordinary citizens, Arab nationalism was obviously defective, as shown by
the resurgence of sectarian animosity during Fitnah al-Muharram of 1953.
Yet novel forms of communication and association allowed increasing
numbers of people to participate in, and incrementally redefine, the
political culture of Manama as the centre of a modern Arab nation in
the making. After World War II in particular modern education, the press,
and cultural and sports clubs transformed the town’s public life.
The proliferation of associations promoting cultural, educational and
sports activities served as crucial venues for political socialisation. They
became the training ground for modernist elites and enlarged the rank and
file of the nationalist class, which now came to include entrepreneurs,
traders, civil servants and professionals. 71 Although clubs were not estab-
lished as political organisations, they played a crucial role in the articu-
lation and circulation of political opinions. Nadi al-‘Urubah (The Arab
Club) established in 1938, Manama’s most influential club, inherited the
mantle of the intellectual circles which had first raised the banner of
Arabism in Muharraq in the first three decades of the twentieth century.
Most importantly, al-‘Urubah along with Nadi al-Bahrayn (The Bahrain
Club) in Muharraq followed the footsteps of the movement championed

70
F. I. Qubain, ‘Social Classes and Tensions in Bahrain’, The Middle East Journal, 9.3
(1955), 269–80 (273).
71
Clubs as venues of political socialisation are discussed in Khuri, Tribe and State in Bahrain,
pp. 174–83 and E. Nakhleh, Bahrain: Political Development in a Modernising Society
(Toronto and Massachusetts: Lexington Books, 1976), pp. 41–58.