Page 347 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (III)_Neat

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magistrates, both having had some years experience in other courts. In 1357 (1938) Shaikh Ali bin
Ahmed was appointed as the third magistrate on the Bahrain Court and from that time the Adviser
took to attending only once a week for the hearing of important cases and appeals from the
lower court. In 1363 (1944) Shaikh Rashid bin Mohamed retired, owing to his advanced age and ill
health, and Shaikh Daij bin Hamad was promoted from the lower court to take his place.

Before 1357 (March 1938 February 1939) no appeal court existed and litigants constantly
approached the Ruler with the object of persuading him to set aside the judgments of his courts,
frequently they were successful and the position, for the magistrates, was extremely unsatisfactory. In
1357 the Ruler appointed his brother, Shaikh Abdulla bin Isa, his eldest son, Shaikh Sulman and the
Adviser as appeal judges to hear appeals from the Bahrain Court. Rules were laid down governing the
framing of appeals and appeals from the Junior Bahrain Court were referred to the Senior Bahrain
Court. When Shaikh Sulnian succeeded to the Shaikhdom he retired from the Appeal Court. The
Junior Bahrain Court started in 1346 (1927), it was needed to relieve the upper court of some of its
work. Three magistrates, members of the Ruling Family, sat on the Junior Court.

Shara Courts.—There have been many changes in the constitution of the Shara Courts during
the last twenty years. When the Sunni Qadi, Shaikh Jasim, retired from his post owing to age and
blindness three local Alims were appointed by the Ruler as Qadis, they were Shaikh Abdul-Latif
bin Saad, who still holds the post, Shaikh Abdul-Latif al-Joder and Shaikh Abdul-Latif bin Mahmood,
the first two were of the Malki sect, to which the Ruling Family and most of the Arabs belong
and the third was Shafi, which is the sect of the Sunni Persians and the Holi Arabs. For many
years the three Abdul Latifs administered Shara law. Two of them were more than elderly when
they were appointed and one retired owing to ill health in 1362 (1943) and the other was induced to
retire on a pension shortly afterwards. A new Shafi Qadi was appointed in 1360 (1941) and at the
end of 1365 (1946) a second Malki Qadi, a great nephew of Shaikh Jasim, was nominated. It cannot
be said that the Sunni Shara Court is either rapid or efficient but the fault lies in the lack of men
with knowledge of religious law and the disinclination of the present day young Arabs to undertake
the religious training which is necessary to fit them to be the Qadis of the future. In this respect
the Shias are more progressive than the Sunnis and the Government has arranged to assist several
young Shias from clerical families to complete their religious education abroad.

The record of the Shia Shara during the last two decades is not edifying. After the dismissal
of Shaikh Khalaf in 1926 the Government appointed Sayed Adnan, of Jedhafs, a member of a family
which had produced many Qadis in the past, as Shia Qadi. He was a well educated and progressive
young man especially interested in education. It was through his efforts that the Government was
able to start a department for the registration and administration of Wakf property. Unfortunately
he died, suddenly, in 1928. After an interval the Government appointed two Shia Qadis, one for
Manama and one for the country, the former was Shaikh Abdulla bin Mohammed Saleh, who had a
large following in Manama, and the latter was Shaikh Ali bin Hassan who was greatly respected in
the villages and who had been, in his days, a well-known Alim, but at the time of his appointment
he was between 70 and 80 years old. The two Qadis, from the very beginning, disliked each other
intensely and each attempted to reduce the other's influence by quarrels and intrigues. For many
years the various factions of the Shia Bahama in the towns and villages centred their political activity
around the Qadis.

Shaikh Abdulla bin Mohamed Saleh was dismissed in 1354 (1935) after being tried
and found guilty of misappropriating the money and property of orphans who had been
placed under his guardianship. The venerable Shaikh Ali bin Hassan was transferred to
Manama and two more Qadis were appointed to help him. In a short time all three Qadis
were on bad terms with each other, various rival factions in the town and villages supported and
opposed the different Qadis, both for the sake of furthering their private interests and owing to their
general fondness for intrigue. By 1357 (March 1938—February 1939) the situation became serious