The Ajam of Bahrain ( ar, عجم البحرین), also known as Persians of Bahrain or Iranians of Bahrain, are an ethnic group 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 ...

composed of

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, mo ...

Bahraini citizens of Persian/Iranian background. The Ajam are estimated to number around 100,000,The Ajam of Manama
/ref> 14% of Bahraini citizen population, who mostly adhere to the Shia sect of Islam. They are mostly bilingual in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

History

Persian migration into Bahrain goes back to the days of the

Sassanid The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

and

Achaemenid Persian empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...

, though in modern times there has been a constant migration for hundreds of years. There has always been a migration of Persian-speaking Shi'a into Bahrain. In 1910, the

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

n community funded and opened a

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

, Al-Ittihad school, that taught

, besides other subjects. In the Manama Souq, many Persians were clustered in the neighborhood of Mushbir. However they resettled in other areas with the development of new towns and expansion of villages during the reign of

Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa (; 3 June 1931 – 6 March 1999) was the first emir of Bahrain from 1961 until his death in 1999. Born in Jasra, Bahrain, he became emir upon the death of his father, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. Early life and reign ...

. Today, a significant number is based in

Muharraq Muharraq ( ar, المحرق, al-Muḥarraq) is Bahrain's third largest city and served as its capital until 1932 when it was replaced by Manama. The population of Muharraq in 2012 was 176,583. The city is located on Muharraq Island. Bahrain Int ...

's Shia enclaves and

Bahrain Island Bahrain Island ( ar, جزيرة البحرين ''Jazīrah al-Baḥrayn''), also known as al-Awal Island and formerly as Bahrein, is the largest island within the archipelago of Bahrain, and forms the bulk of the country's land mass while hosting ...

's modernized Shia towns.

Matam Al-Ajam Al-Kabeer

Matam Al-Ajam Al-Kabeer (

:مأتم العجم الكبير) is the first Persian Matam and the largest such matam in Bahrain. It was founded in Fareej el-Makharqa by Abdul-Nabi Al-Kazerooni, a rich Persian merchant who was a representative of the Persian community in the council of the hakim

Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa (1848–9 December 1932) was the ruler of Bahrain from 1869 until his death. His title was Hakim of Bahrain. He is one of the longest reigning monarchs of the region, a reign lasting 63 years. He was forced by the Brit ...

. Himself an immigrant from the Dashti region of Iran, he single-handedly organised processions, collected donations and hired

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...

s ( ar, خطيب) to speak at the matam. Construction started in 1882 as a specialized building where Ashura, a holy day in

Shia Islam 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, m ...

, would be marked with processions, ceremonial flagellation and passion plays commemorating the death of

Imam Hussain Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...

. The matam is still used for this purpose. It was originally built with simple construction material such as

palm tree The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm ...

trunks and leaf stalks. The matam was formally established in 1904 where it was decided that the matam would be renovated with rocks, clay and cement. Initially in the 1890s, the matam was primarily supported by Persian merchants, with two-thirds of the donation coming from the

Bushehr Bushehr, Booshehr or Bushire ( fa, بوشهر ; also romanised as ''Būshehr'', ''Bouchehr'', ''Buschir'' and ''Busehr''), also known as Bandar Bushehr ( fa, ; also romanised as ''Bandar Būshehr'' and ''Bandar-e Būshehr''), previously Antio ...

i and Safar family, respectively. For much of the 20th century, the matam had relied on yearly donations of money and land from rich and poor members of the Persian community and from

waqf A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitab ...

revenue. The matam also had an emergency relief fund that was to be distributed to the poor and to needy individuals; the matam provided financial aid and shelter to people following the collapse of the pearling market in the 1930s. Upon the death of Abdul-Nabi Al-Kazerooni in 1927, Abdul Nabi Bushehri, himself a Persian immigrant from

and a well-respected figure in the Persian community, took control of the matam. Unlike his close friend, Bushehri ran the matam with other notables of the Persian community, forming a

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

board. Upon Bushehri's death in 1945, the board took over. In order to prevent confusion, the board appointed a specific member, Hasan Baljik, to act as key carrier to the matam and responsible for programs and budgetary issues. In 1971, an administrative board consisting of a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and others was set up, all of whom were rich merchants.

Culture

Language

The Ajam speak southern Persian dialects distinctive to the cities they have originated from, for example: * "Why" in official Persian dialect is "''baráye che''" ( fa, برای چه؟) while in southern Persian dialect is "''seche''" ( fa, سیچه؟). * "Money" in official Persian dialect is "''Púl''" ( fa, پول) while in southern Persian dialect is "''payse''" ( fa, پِیسه). * "Do you want water?" in official Persian dialect is "''áb mikháhi''" ( fa, آب می خواهی؟) while in southern Persian dialect is "''ow mikhay''" ( fa, اُو مي خای؟). In addition to this, many names of villages in Bahrain are derived from Persian, which are thought to have been as a result of influences during the Safavid rule of Bahrain (1501–1722) and the previous Persian rule. City and village names such as

Manama Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very di ...

, Karbabad, Salmabad,

Karzakan Karzakan ( ar, كرزكان) is a village in Bahrain. It lies along the western coast of Bahrain Island. The seventeenth-century theologian Salih Al-Karzakani Sheikh Salih Al-Karzakani ( ar, صالح الكرزكاني) was a seventeenth-century ...

Samaheej Samaheej ( ar, سماهيج ''Samāhīj'') is a village in Bahrain on the northern coast of Muharraq Island. Al Dair village lies to its northwest, while Galali lies to its southeast. It is north of Bahrain International Airport. Samaheej ( ' ...

, Tashan, Duraz, Barbar, Demistan, Karrana, Shakhura, Shahrekan, and Jurdab were originally derived from Persian, suggesting Persian influence on the island's history. }), , ''Stable of Kings'' , - , Jurdab ( ar, جرداب ), , ''Whirlpool'' , - , Shahrekan ( ar, شهركان ), , ''Old Town'' , - , Salmabad ( ar, سلماباد ), , ''Inhabited Peace'' or ''Forever Peace'' , - , Karbabad ( ar, كرباباد, , Derived from a plant name , - , Demistan ( ar, دمستان), , Comes from the word ''Dabistan'', meaning ''school'' , - , Daih ( ar, ديه), , ''Village'' , - , Karrana ( ar, كرانه, , ''The Coast'' , - ,

Diraz Diraz,( ar, الدراز, also spelled Duraz) is the biggest and most populated village on the northwest coast of Bahrain. It lies to the east of Budaiya, west of Barbar and north of Bani Jamra. Two Dilmun era archaeological sites, namely Diraz ...

( ar, دراز), , ''Long'' , - ,

( ar, المنامه), , Derived from two words, meaning ''I'' and ''Speech''; Manama is actually derived from Arabic ِAl-Muna'amah () and its people were referred to as Almuna'ami; in the famous Shia book by Sayyed Mohsen Alameen "A'yan Alshia" () a Shi'a scholar from Manama or Muna'ama was mentioned Shaykh Ali bin Umran bin Fayad Almuna'ami Albahrani () , - ,

( ar, سماهيج), , ''Three fish'' The Persian language has had the biggest foreign linguistic influence on Bahraini Arabic.Dialect, Culture, and Society in Eastern Arabia: Glossary
Clive Holes. 2001. Page XXX. The indigenous Bahrani dialect of Bahrain has also borrowed many words from Persian, for example: *''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. *''Surwaal'' - trousers. *''Jurab'' - socks. *''Sirdaab'' - cellar. *''Tannuur'' - coal oven.

Food

One of the notable local delicacies of the

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

in Bahrain is

mahyawa Mahyawa or mehyawa ( fa, مهیاوه) is an Iranian cuisine tangy sauce made out of fermented fish. History Mahyawa originates in the southern coastal regions of Iran, but has become a popular food item in the Persian Gulf countries, brought by ...

, 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. Cham-Chamoo is a sweet naan that is made similar to Qeshm Island version. Other food items consumed are similar to

Persian cuisine Iranian cuisine () refers to the culinary practices of Iran. Due to the historically common usage of the term "Persia" to refer to Iran in the Western world,Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 ( ...

Notable people

* Abdulhussain bin Ali Mirza, the current Minister of Electricity and Water Affairs of Bahrain. *

Fatema Hameed Gerashi Fatema Abdul Majeed Hameed Gerashi, (born 26 March 1986), is a Bahraini swimmer. She was the first woman to represent Bahrain at the Olympics. She represented her country at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, competing in the women's 50 metres ...

, a Bahraini swimmer. *

Karim Fakhrawi Karim Fakhrawi, also known as Abdulkarim Ali Ahmed Fakhrawi (1962? – 12 April 2011), was the co-founder of '' Al-Wasat'', considered one of the more popular newspapers in Bahrain by winning numerous awards. He died while in the custody due to s ...

, the co-founder of Al-Wasat, considered one of the more popular newspapers in Bahrain by winning numerous awards. *

Ghada Jamshir Ghada Jamshir ( ar, غادة جمشير) is a Bahraini women's rights activist and an ardent campaigner for the reform of Sharia courts in Bahrain and the Arab States of the Persian Gulf. Jamshir heads the Women's Petition Committee lobbying for a ...

(

:غادة جمشير), a women's rights activist. * Zainab Al Askari (