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Part I: The Search for a ‘Hero’: the Rise of the Nationalist Movement

Chapter One

Background to Bahrain’s Sectarian Tensions,

Trade Unions, and the Sunni-Shi’ite Clash of 1953

January 1953 to February 1954

With nationalistic fever on the march in the Middle East, the search for

Bahrain’s version of a nationalist ‘hero’, as in Tawfiq Al-Hakim’s novel The Return of

the Spirit, was on. As soon as Al-Bakir returned to Bahrain he began to involve

himself in political activity aimed at the establishment of trade unions. A perfect

opportunity presented itself in September 1953 when the Sunni-Shi’ite sectarian

clash erupted. This part of the thesis will explore how the conflict offered the

prospect of establishing a détente between the two opposing sides, utilising the void

the crisis had created and the need for a saviour, while at the same time turning the

Movement into a political entity. The conflict that had unfolded surprised British

officials in Bahrain who tried to seek an explanation for the events.

Evidence of disunity and a lack of trust between Bahrain’s Sunnis and Shi’ites

were clear from an earlier stage. The clash of 1953 was not the product of a sudden

spur of the moment, but rather a result of a long-held deep distrust between the two

communities that eventually manifested itself. In order to understand the nature of

the tensions of 1953, it is important briefly to examine the background and anxieties

© Hamad E. Abdulla 31