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The Government issued a curfew order and an order forbidding meetings and it summoned
the leading Sunnis and Shias who agreed to go out to the villages in pairs in order to calm the
people. A large proportion of the workers with the oil company had left their work and
returned to their homes as every Sunni and Shia village was expecting trouble from neigh­
bouring villages of the other scci.
After two or three days conditions became more or less normal, men of both sects returned
to work and no further incidents were reported. An enquiry was held to determine the cause
of the disturbances during the Muharram procession but the evidence was so contradictory
that it was not possible to establish who was responsible for starting the fighting. It was clear,
however, that it had not been planned beforehand.
Throughout the last three months of 1953 there was very bitter feeling between Sunnis and
Shias. During the strike of the Aramco workers in Saudi Arabia a number of young Arabs
who were working there returned to their own country and their presence seemed to aggravate
the local situation. The Shias were dissatisfied with the judgment of the Bahrain Court in the
Arad case. The hearing of this case had been unduly postponed in order that it should be
heard when the feeling between the two sects has abated. In October the Shias organised a
religious procession on an occasion which had not in the past been celebrated in this manner,
but it passed off quietly.
During the Spring of 1954 there were several incidents which inflamed the political situation
and which tended to direct the Shia feeling more definitely against the Government. A car
driven by a well known Arab ran over a Shia and killed him, and a member of the Ruling
Family ran over a school teacher, not a Shia, who was also killed. The manner in which
these two cases were dealt with was considered inadequate. The general feeling of political
unrest was increased by a stream of anonymous letters, pamphlets and newspaper articles
attacking both the Government and individuals. Anonymous letters have always been very
prevalent in Bahrain. Although the Shia leaders were the most violent in their complaints both
they and some of the Sunnis began to advocate a Sunni-Shia Council to deal with the quarrels
between the two sects. The Government had persuaded four influential Sunnis and Shias to
do what they could to ease the situation, but they had not been very successful. The demand
for a Sunni-Shia Council soon developed into a demand for a Parliament or an elected
Executive Council which, at a later date, was put forward as one of the demands which was
made by the so-called “Higher Executive Committee.”

Sitra Riot
On 15th June a serious riot took place at Sitra, at the gates of the Bahrain Petroleum
Company’s drum plant. There was a dispute between some young Sunni and Shia workmen
about their bicycles. The Sunnis came from a village at the south end of Sitra Island, the only
Sunni village in that neighbourhood. Hearing that there was trouble their relations came down
to the drum plant. Several bus loads of Shia villagers, led by Hassan bin Mohammed Marzook,
the head man of Sitra, arrived simultaneously at the drum plant. The Sunni Arabs were
outnumbered and had the worst of it. One Arab, of the Naim tribe, was killed and there
were many injuries on both sides, none of them being very serious. It appeared from the
evidence which was heard afterwards that the Shia villagers, led by Bin Marzook, were the
aggressors. Many arrests were made, mostly among the Shias but no evidence was forthcoming
as to who struck the blow which killed the Naim Arab.
Second Arad Incident
Less than a week later there v/as another incident at Arad, this time it was provoked by the
Shias. A number of men from the village entered at night the Sunni village on the adjoining
island, ostensibly in pursuit of a suspicious character who they alleged had been seen lurking
in the village. The people of the island were aroused and there was a clash, but no serious
injuries were inflicted.
Attack on the Fort
■ On June 30th the sentences on the Sitra Riot wcrc giVen out in court. Sunnis and Shias
were given varying terms of imprisonment and fincs. Hassan Marzook received the most
5 severe sentence. The Court was crowded with Shia supporlers and people from Sitra. When
the sentence was announced they ran into the bazaar shouting “close the shops.” Tl The shop-