Bahrain And Saudi Arabia: Citizenship And Shared Identities

Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are two separate countries with a close and friendly relationship. Both are Sunni monarchies with a Sunni and Shiite population and are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Bahraini citizens are exempt from needing a visa to enter Saudi Arabia, but foreigners residing in Bahrain must obtain a visa. Bahrain is an attractive destination for Saudis, particularly the wealthy, who are drawn to its more relaxed social rules regarding alcohol, nightclubs, and entertainment. The countries are connected by the King Fahd Causeway.

Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are both members of the Gulf Cooperation Council

The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Oman. All current member states are monarchies, including three constitutional monarchies (Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain), two absolute monarchies (Saudi Arabia and Oman), and one federal monarchy (the United Arab Emirates), which is made up of seven member states, each of which is an absolute monarchy with its own emir.

The GCC's main headquarters are located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The council's charter was signed on May 25, 1981, formally establishing the institution. The signatory states on the founding document are the only current members of the GCC.

The highest decision-making entity of the GCC is the Supreme Council, which is made up of the heads of state of the member states. It meets annually and sets the vision and goals for the GCC. Decisions on important issues require unanimous approval, while procedural matters are decided by majority vote. Each member state has one vote.

The Ministerial Council, composed of the foreign ministers of all member states, meets every three months. It formulates policies and makes recommendations to promote cooperation and coordinate ongoing projects. The Ministerial Council also prepares the agenda for meetings of the Supreme Council.

The Secretariat is the executive arm of the GCC. It takes decisions within its authority and implements decisions approved by the Supreme or Ministerial Council. The current Secretary-General is Nayef Falah Mubarak Al Hajraf.

The GCC has a defense planning council that coordinates military cooperation between member countries. The Peninsula Shield Force is the military arm of the GCC, formed in 1984. During the Arab Spring in 2011, Saudi Arabia and the UAE sent ground troops to Bahrain to protect vital infrastructure during an uprising there. This was the first case of the GCC agreement on defense being used internally.

In terms of economic coordination, the GCC has attempted to establish an economic union and has had some success in tax policy coordination. A customs union was implemented in 2015, and member states began rolling out a value-added tax of 5% in 2018. However, attempts at a common currency have stalled, with Oman and the UAE withdrawing from the proposed currency union.

The GCC also has agreements in place for intelligence sharing and has launched common economic projects, such as the GCC Interconnection Grid, which connects the power grids of member states.

Both countries have a Sunni monarchy and a Sunni and Shiite population

Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are both Sunni monarchies with a mixed Sunni and Shiite population. The Bahraini royal family, the Al Khalifa, are Sunni Muslims and have been criticised for violating the human rights of dissidents, political opposition figures, and their majority Shia Muslim population.

The Baharna are an ethnoreligious group of Shia Muslim Arabs indigenous to the historical region of Bahrain and are generally regarded as the original inhabitants of Eastern Arabia. Most Bahraini citizens are Baharna, and they are believed to be the descendants of converts from the original population of Christians, Jews, and ancient Persians inhabiting the island and cultivated coastal provinces of Eastern Arabia at the time of the Arab conquest.

The Baharna are divided into two main ethnic groups: Baharna and Ajam. Shia Persians form large communities in Manama and Muharraq. Sunni Bahrainis are mainly divided into two main ethnic groups: Arabs (al Arab) and Huwala. Sunni Arabs are the most influential ethnic group in Bahrain, holding most government positions, and the Bahraini monarchy is Sunni Arab.

The Baharna are an ethnoreligious group of Shia Muslim Arabs indigenous to Bahrain

The Baharna speak a distinct dialect of Arabic, known as Bahrani Arabic, which exhibits Akkadian, Aramaic, and Syriac features. Bahrani Arabic is believed to have borrowed these features from Mesopotamian Arabic. The sedentary people of pre-Islamic Bahrain were Aramaic speakers and, to some degree, Persian speakers, while Syriac functioned as a liturgical language.

The Baharna are mostly concentrated in Manama, the villages of the main island of Bahrain, several villages in the island of Muharraq in the north, and the island of Sitra to the east. Their traditional economic activities included palm tree farming and fishing.

The Baharna are believed to originate from Bahrain's ancient population, which consisted of partially Christianized Arabs, Aramaic-speaking agriculturalists, Persian Zoroastrians, and a small number of Jews. According to historian Robert Bertram Serjeant, the Baharna may be the descendants of converts from the original population of Christians, Jews, and Persians inhabiting Eastern Arabia during the time of the Muslim conquest.

The Baharna are one of the main ethnic groups in Bahrain, along with Sunni Arabs, Shia Persians, and Huwala (descendants of Sunni Iranians who migrated to the Persian Gulf in the 19th century). While the Baharna are indigenous to Bahrain, the Sunni al-Khalifa family, who govern the country, arrived in Shia Bahrain from Najd in 1783.

Bahrain is ruled by a Sunni king, while Saudi Arabia is ruled by a Sunni monarchy

Bahrain is a small Arab state situated in a bay in the Persian Gulf. It is officially known as the Kingdom of Bahrain and is ruled by a Sunni king, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, whose family holds the main political and military posts. The country is an archipelago consisting of Bahrain Island and about 30 smaller islands, with the capital, Manama, located on Bahrain Island. Bahrain's population is approximately 1.5 million, with about 712,362 people being Bahraini nationals.

Bahrain's political system is a semi-constitutional monarchy, with the king holding wide-ranging executive powers, including the ability to appoint the prime minister and ministers, command the army, and chair the Higher Judicial Council. The country has a bicameral National Assembly, with the Shura Council's 40 members appointed by the king, and the Council of Representatives' 40 members elected by popular vote.

Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, is also an Arab state but is located in Western Asia. It is officially known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is ruled by a Sunni monarchy. Saudi Arabia is much larger than Bahrain, with a population of over 35 million. The country is an absolute monarchy, with the royal family, the House of Saud, dominating the political system. The king combines legislative, executive, and judicial functions and holds supreme authority.

Both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have Islam as their state religion, with Sunni Islam being the dominant branch in both countries. However, Bahrain's population is predominantly Shia Muslim, which has led to long-running tensions and civil disobedience.

In summary, while Bahrain is ruled by a Sunni king, Saudi Arabia is governed by an absolute monarchy under the House of Saud, with both countries having Islam as a common state religion.

Both countries have close and friendly relations

Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have a close and friendly relationship. Both countries are Sunni monarchies with both Sunni and Shiite populations, and both are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The GCC agreement on defense was first used internally when Bahrain's monarchy invited Saudi forces to suppress the rebellion during the Arab Spring.

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have strong economic ties. Saudi Arabia is Bahrain's biggest export customer, importing Bahraini goods worth $140 million in October 2021 alone. The two kingdoms have also witnessed a burgeoning tourism sector. The King Fahd Causeway, which connects the two countries, has helped strengthen relations, with around 390 million users traveling along it since its opening in 1986.

The two countries routinely coordinate their actions under the GCC umbrella and work together in various international bodies, including the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the UN.

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain also have strong political ties. In 2021, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Bahrain's ruler, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, to bolster relations. In addition, Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, offered Bahrain a five-year, $10 billion aid package in 2018 in exchange for fiscal reforms.

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