The National Union Committee ( ar, هيئة الاتحاد الوطني) was a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

reformist political organization formed in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an a ...

in 1954 (originally named the ''Higher Executive Committee'', ar, الهيئة التنفيذية العليا). The committee was formed by reformists in response to

sectarian Sectarianism is a political or cultural conflict between two groups which are often related to the form of government which they live under. Prejudice, discrimination, or hatred can arise in these conflicts, depending on the political status quo ...

clashes between

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...

and

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most n ...

members of the population. Its foundations were laid in the journal, '' Sawt al-Bahrain'', which was founded and published by these reformist figures. The original aims were to push for an elected popular assembly, a codified system of civil and criminal law, the establishment of an

appellate court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

, the right to form

trade unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...

, an end to

British colonial The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

influence (through the removal of

Charles Belgrave Sir Charles Dalrymple Belgrave KBE (9 December 1894 – 28 February 1969) was a British citizen and advisor to the rulers of Bahrain from 1926 until 1957, as "Chief Administrator" or "adviserate". He first served under Shaikh Hamad ibn Isa Al Kh ...

), and an end to sectarianism. The original committee was made up of four Sunni representatives and four Shi'i representatives. The members were: * Abdul Rahman Al Bakir ( ar, عبدالرحمن الباكر) - Secretary * Abdulaziz Al Shamlan ( ar, عبدالعزيز الشملان) * Ibrahim Fakhro ( ar, إبراهيم آل فخرو ) * Ibrahim bin Mousa ( ar, إبراهيم بن موسى) * Abdali Al Alaiwat ( ar, عبدعلي العليوات) *

Sayyid ''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhammad' ...

Ali Kamaluddin ( ar, السيد علي كمال الدين) * Shaikh Abdullah Abudeeb ( ar, الشيخ عبدالله ابو ديب) * Shaikh Mohsin al Tajir ( ar, الشيخ محسن التاجر) One of the early members of the committee was Ali Sayyar, who joined in 1956 and would become a veteran journalist in Bahrain.

Arrest and deportation

The NUC successfully orchestrated a number of general strikes and demonstrations in the country to push for its demands. In March 1956, British

Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

Selwyn Lloyd John Selwyn Brooke Lloyd, Baron Selwyn-Lloyd, (28 July 1904 – 18 May 1978) was a British politician. Born and raised in Cheshire, he was an active Liberal as a young man in the 1920s. In the following decade, he practised as a barrister and ...

was visiting Bahrain. Crowds of protesters lined the streets to shout anti-British slogans and threw sand at stones at the Foreign Secretary's entourage. A number of crew members, including a stewardess, were left injured. Abdulrahman Al Bakir, the secretary of the NUC, was among the leaders of the demonstrations. He was asked to leave the country after the incident for an extended stay abroad, and departed to Egypt. Al Bakir returned to Bahrain September 1956. In October 1956, the NUC called for strikes and demonstrations against the Israeli-Anglo-French attack on

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

in the

Suez Campaign The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

. This led to days of violence in Bahrain. In November, the ruler Shaikh

Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa ( ar, سلمان بن حمد آل خليفة; born 21 October 1969) is the Crown prince and the Prime Minister of Bahrain. He is also the deputy supreme commander of the Bahrain Defence Force. Early life and educ ...

, ordered the arrest of the NUC leaders, accusing Al Bakir, Al Shamlan and Aliwat of attempting to take his life. A specially set up court in

Budaiya Al Budaiya ( ar, البديع) is a coastal town located in the northwestern region of Bahrain Island, in the Northern Governorate of the Kingdom of Bahrain. It neighbors the villages of Diraz and Bani Jamra. History The town was founded by the ...

made up of three judges (all members of the ruling

Al Khalifa family The House of Khalifa ( ar, آل خليفة, translit=Āl Khalīfah) is the ruling family of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Al Khalifas profess Sunni Islam and belong to the Anizah tribe, some members of this tribe joined the Utub alliance which m ...

) tried the men and found them guilty. They were sentenced to 14 years at a prison located outside of Bahrain, in

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

. In June 1961 the three prisoners were released from Saint Helena after a successful

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...

action, and were later paid financial compensation from the British government.

References

Debates in British House of Commons
* Miriam Joyce. (Autumn 2000).
The Bahraini three on St. Helena, 1956-1961
' ''The Middle East Journal'' 54 (4); p. 613 * Falah al-Mdaires. (Spring 2002).
Shi'ism and Political Protest in Bahrain
' ''Domes'' 11 (1); p. 20 * Abdulhadi Khalaf. (1998).

* Fuad Ishaq Khuri. (1980). ''Tribe and state in Bahrain: The transformation of social and political authority in an Arab state''. * Fred H. Lawson. (1989). ''Bahrain: The Modernization of Autocracy''. * Charles Belgrave. (1960). Personal Column, (London: Hutchinson) * Abdul Rahman Al Bakir. (1965)
Mina al-bahrayn ila al-manfaa, 'sant halaneh', [From Prison to Exile 'Saint Helene']
', al-Hayat Library Publications, Beirut. * A. de L. Rush. (1991)
Bahrain: The Ruling Family of Al Khalifah
Archive Editions. * Hussain Al Baharna
Readings in the trial of the National Union Committee leadership
(Arabic) * Abdulnabi Al Ekri. (Feb 2005)
The National Union Committee in foreign writings

Bahrain Nationalist Movement
''Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa''.
National Liberation Front (Bahrain)
''Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa''. {{Bahrain topics Bahraini democracy movements Political history of Bahrain Political parties in Bahrain

Arrest and deportation

See also

References