Ajam of Bahrain

Iranians in Bahrain

Languages
Persian, Bahrani Arabic, Gulf Arabic
Religion
Predominantly Twelver Shi'a Islam
Related ethnic groups
Persians, Iranian Arabs, Huwala, Pakistanis in Bahrain

The Iranians in Bahrain or Ajam (Template:Lang-ar) are a community of Persians in Bahrain. They have traditionally been merchants living in a specific quarters of Manama and Muharraq. They mostly adhere to the Shia sect of Islam. In the Manama Souq, many Ajam are clustered in the neighborhoods of Mushbir and Fareeq el-Makharqa.

History

The immigration of Persians to Bahrain might have begun when the Greek Seleucid kingdom which was ruling Bahrain at the time fell and the Persian Empire invaded the Bahrain islands, but it is often said that it started during the 1600s when Abbas I of Persia invaded Bahrain. After settling in Bahrain, the Persians were effectively Arabized, even having Arabic patronymics. They usually settled in areas inhabited by the indigenous Baharna, probably because they share the same Shia Muslim faith, however, some Sunni Ajam settled in areas mostly inhabited by Sunni Arab immigrants such as Hidd and Galali. In Muharraq, they have their own neighborhood called Fareej Karimi named after a rich Ajami man called Ali Abdulla Karimi.

According to the 1905 census, there were 1650 Bahraini citizens with Persian ancestry.

Ali Bushahri estimates that the Ajami population is about 100,000 or 20% of 550,000 Bahraini citizens. (Not the whole population)

Immigration to Bahrain in the early 20th century

Nasser Hussain says that many Iranians fled their native country in the early 20th century due to a law king Reza Shah issued which banned women from wearing the hijab, or because they feared for their lives after fighting the English, or to find jobs. They were coming to Bahrain from Bushere. This was between 1920 to 1940. It takes 18 hours to arrive at Bahrain by boat from Bushere.

Iranian School in Bahrain 1939

Differentiating between Ajam and Iranians

To be classified as an Ajami, one must

• Be born in Bahrain
• Speak Arabic
• Belong to a family with an at least 50 year history in Bahrain

If an ethnic Persian living in Bahrain does not have any of those features, he is simply called an Iranian.

Matam Alajam Alkabeer

Matam Alajam Alkabeer (Arabic:مأتم العجم الكبير) is the first Ajami Matam in Bahrain. Before this matam, mourning of Imam Hussain by Ajam was done in homes.

Construction started in 1882 when a wealthy trader called Sayyid Sadiq Alfarisi, an Iranian Arab, bought a piece of land just for a matam that local Iranians can mourn Imam Hussain in. It was formally established in 1904.

Today, many Ajam from all over Bahrain participate in mourning Imam Hussain in Matam Alajam Alkabeer.

Language

They speak southern Persian dialects distinctive to the cities they have originated from, e.g.: Lari, tajiki kalani, lori kalani, etc. For example:

• "Why" in official Persian dialect is "baráye che" (Template:Lang-fa) while in southern Persian dialect is "seche" (Template:Lang-fa)
• "Money" in official Persian dialect is "Púl" (Template:Lang-fa) while in southern Persian dialect is "payse" (Template:Lang-fa)
• "Do you want water?" in official Persian dialect is "áb mikháhi" (Template:Lang-fa) while in southern Persian dialect is "ow mikhay" (Template:Lang-fa)

In addition to this, many names of ancient villages in Bahrain are in Persian. It is said that these names were influenced during the Safavid rule of Bahrain (1501–1722). i.e. Karbabad, Salmabad, Karzakan, Duraz, Barbar, etc., which indicates that the history of the Ajams is much older. The local Arabic dialects of Bahrain had also borrowed many words from the Persian language in the past, examples are chandal (woods used in constructing the roof of old buildings), baadgeer (towers with single or two, three or four sided openings above dwellings in order to let wind air into the building to create a current and hence cool the air inside the lower floor rooms), noghida [never heard this word, perhaps meant to be Naakhodaa, meaning the captain of a sea vessel (head of a pearl diving crew).

Matam Al Ajam, Fareeq Al Makharga, Manama, Bahraim

Food

One of the notable local delicacies of the Persians in Bahrain is mahyawa, consumed in Southern Iran as well, is a watery earth brick coloured sauce made from sardines and consumed with bread or other food. Persians are known and are famous in Bahrain for bread-making. Another local delicacy is "pishoo" made from rose water (golab) and agar agar. Other food items consumed are similar to Persian cuisine.

Notable people

• Yousif bin Abdulrahman Fakhro, was one of the most prominent and wealthiest businessmen in Bahrain.
• Munira Fakhro, Bahraini academic and was a candidate in Bahrain's 2006 general election for the opposition Waad.
• Ibrahim Sharif, General Secretary of the secular liberal National Democratic Action Society (Wa'ad).
• Karim Fakhrawi, the co-founder of Al-Wasat, considered one of the more popular newspapers in Bahrain by winning numerous awards.
• Ghada Jamshir (Arabic:غادة جمشير), women rights activist
• Zainab Al Askari(Arabic:زينب غلوم العسكري), author and actress
• Lulwa Al Awadhi (Arabic:لولوة العوضي ), lawyer
• Majeed Karimi (Arabic: مجيد كريمي) a member of Al Wefaq

See also

• Baharna
• History of Bahrain
• Ajam

References

• Fuccaro, Nelida (2005), "Mapping the transnational community: Persians and the space of the city in Bahrain c.1869-1937", in Al-Rasheed, Madawi (ed.), Transnational Connections and the Persian Gulf, Routledge, pp. 39–74, ISBN 978-0-415-33135-7

External links

• Ajam Al Bahrain
• Ajam Al Bahrain Group
• Forum for Bahrain Ajam
• Ajam AlBahrain
• Matam Al Ajam Al Kabeer, officially recognised in 1881
• Matam Al Ajam Al Kabeer