Bahrain is perfecting the art of repression, and Britain is happy to help

[Arabian Stallion]

KSA should annex Bahrain. Since most of Eastern Arabia geographically and population wise lies in KSA (Eastern Province) and the population is similar in all of Eastern Arabia, annexation into a federal state that would later evolve into the United States of Arabia, makes sense.

It would also unite the heartlands of the ancient Semitic Dilmun civilization which is 5000 years old and one of the oldest civilizations in the world, which is added bonus.

The Bahraini government could have chosen the path of Al-Assad in Syria or the Mullah's in Iran in 2009 during the "Green Revolution" however they showed restrain which has saved Bahrain from becoming a failed state.

Moreover contrary to some reports the indigenous Bahraini population (around 600.000 people nowadays) is almost equally divided between Sunni and Shia adherents. Indigenous members of Bani Utbah, Dawasir are almost exclusively Sunni, the Hola (almost exclusively Sunni Arabs from Iran who migrated back to the Peninsula), the indigenous Baharna are majority Sunni and so are the Afro-Arabs. The 200.000-250.000 strong Ajam of Bahrain (who are heavily mixed with the Shia Arab community) are mostly Shia though. Of course there are also a sizable group of local Shia Bahraini Arabs.

Moreover the remaining 2/3 of the population are non-locals and the Muslims among them (100.000 Arabs) and 600.000 mostly South Asians, are Sunni Muslim as well in their majority by far.

Some Bahraini activists have genuine grievances and I support their struggle just like I support the struggle of like-minded people in KSA and all over the Arab world, but there is also a substantial amount of Bahraini Shia's who would love to import the poisonous Farsi Wilayat al-Faqih system next door and turn Bahrain into a failed Mullah state. Those individuals should be crushed with a harsh hand and that is taking place.

A strong message was given a few years ago. Albeit peaceful in the sense that nobody lost their lives but law and order was returned.

 

[Kuwaiti Girl]

KSA should annex Bahrain. Since most of Eastern Arabia geographically and population wise lies in KSA (Eastern Province) and the population is similar in all of Eastern Arabia, annexation into a federal state that would later evolve into the United States of Arabia, makes sense.

It would also unite the heartlands of the ancient Semitic Dilmun civilization which is 5000 years old and one of the oldest civilizations in the world, which is added bonus.

The Bahraini government could have chosen the path of Al-Assad in Syria or the Mullah's in Iran in 2009 during the "Green Revolution" however they showed restrain which has saved Bahrain from becoming a failed state.

Moreover contrary to some reports the indigenous Bahraini population (around 600.000 people nowadays) is almost equally divided between Sunni and Shia adherents. Indigenous members of Bani Utbah, Dawasir are almost exclusively Sunni, the Hola (almost exclusively Sunni Arabs from Iran who migrated back to the Peninsula), the indigenous Baharna are majority Sunni and so are the Afro-Arabs. The 200.000-250.000 strong Ajam of Bahrain are mostly Shia though. Of course there are also a sizable group of local Shia Bahraini Arabs.

Moreover the remaining 2/3 of the population are non-locals and the Muslims among them (100.000 Arabs) and 600.000 mostly South Asians, are Sunni Muslim as well in their majority by far.

Some Bahraini activists have genuine grievances and I support their struggle just like I support the struggle of like-minded people in KSA and all over the Arab world, but there is also a substantial amount of Bahraini Shia's who would love to import the poisonous Farsi Wilayat al-Faqih system next door and turn Bahrain into a failed Mullah state. Those individuals should be crushed with a harsh hand and that is taking place.

No offence, but a lot of what you said isn't true.

First of all, most of the Ajam in Bahrain (i.e. Bahrainis of Iranian descent) are Sunni Muslim. The biggest Ajam families in Bahrain -- i.e. the Al-Fakhros, Kanoos, and Al-Moayads -- are Sunni Muslim, and they're very close to the ruling family for political and sectarian-related reasons.

Secondly, most of the Shias in Bahrain are Bahrani people (i.e. indigenous Arabs). The Bahrainis of Iranian descent are, ironically, the ones who have turned the Sunni community into a sizable one.

Thirdly, the Hola aren't Arabs, even though they pretend to be since a lot of them are ashamed to admit that they're originally Iranian. Speaking of which, the Hola were originally referred to as "Kawawla", meaning "gypsies". They changed their name from "Kowly" to "Howly" for societal reasons.

As for Saudi Arabia annexing Bahrain, it has already happened, albeit unofficially. That said, there are very few connections between the people of Eastern Arabia and the peoples of other parts of the Arabian Peninsula.

The inhabitants of Eastern Arabia are somewhat isolated from the other peninsular populations. Moreover, they culturally and religiously identify with a completely different sect than the majority of the other peninsular Arabs.

If anything, Eastern Arabia might one day exist as an independent state and absorb Bahrain.

 

[HAIDER]

Feel sorry for Bahraini people.....

Bahrain: 9-Year Sentence for Opposition Leader

 

[Arabian Stallion]

No offence, but a lot of what you said isn't true.

First of all, most of the Ajam in Bahrain (i.e. Bahrainis of Iranian descent) are Sunni Muslim. The biggest Ajam families in Bahrain -- i.e. the Al-Fakhros, Kanoos, and Al-Moayads -- are Sunni Muslim, and they're very close to the ruling family for political and sectarian-related reasons.

Secondly, most of the Shias in Bahrain are Bahrani people (i.e. indigenous Arabs). The Bahrainis of Iranian descent are, ironically, the ones who have turned the Sunni community into a sizable one.

Thirdly, the Hola aren't Arabs, even though they pretend to be since a lot of them are ashamed to admit that they're originally Iranian. Speaking of which, the Hola were originally referred to as "Kawawla", meaning "gypsies". They changed their names from "Kowly" to "Howly" for societal reasons.

As for Saudi Arabia annexing Bahrain, it has already happened, albeit unofficially. That said, there are very little connections between the people of Eastern Arabia and the peoples of other parts of the Arabian Peninsula.

The inhabitants of Eastern Arabia are somewhat isolated from the other peninsular populations. Moreover, they culturally and religiously identify with a completely different sect from the majority of the other peninsular Arabs.

If anything, Eastern Arabia might one day exist as an independent state and absorb Bahrain.

What? The Ajam of Bahrain, some 200.000 people heavily mixed with local Arabs, are in the majority Shia and not Sunni. Hola are mostly Arabs. A few families might be Arabized or have non-Arab origins but the majority of them do have Arab ancestry as evident by their family names and appearance. Not that Arabs and Iranians look much apart, lol.
There is a consensus about this wherever you look. They still mostly have Arab relatives in Iran spread from Southern Iran to Ahwaz. Even the name means "Migrant Arabs".
The Sunni community in Bahrain has always been numerous. Shias likewise.

Nonsense. The people of Eastern Arabia are closer to fellow Arabians on the Arabian Peninsula than anyone else alongside Iraq who are 90% Arab too. The differences between people of Arabia are overall minimal. Shared ancient history (ancient Semitic and more recently Arab), geography, wider culture, language, religion, DNA etc. you name it confirms this clearly.

Moreover Arabs from all across the Arabian Peninsula have been migrating all over the Peninsula and mixed with each other. Hijaz is basically a living proof of that as is Eastern Arabia and numerous historical regions of Arabia, including naturally all cosmopolitan cities. Due to the dominant geography of Arabia (deserts and mountains) and being the largest Peninsula in the world, migration from one place to the other was very normal and natural. Within Arabia and the immediate region.

However yes, there are historical regions within Arabia (after all its a subcontinent the size of India), for instance Eastern Arabia (which again can be divided into a few historical regions) that share more in common with each other than say Hadhramis. However that does not change anything in the wider picture. Using that logic every single country of a certain size, for instance England, could be divided into numerous countries based on historical provinces and geography alone.

I highly doubt that a "Eastern Arabian" state would ever emerge, rather I am absolutely convinced that Arabia will unite once again and form one strong federal state. Everything else would make little sense. The world is moving toward more unified states and areas of interest either politically, economically etc. and towards greater integration.

If we followed such logic almost every city, village could be an independent state given the ancient tradition of city states in Arab culture let alone the tribal element. That's why every Arab is a Sheikh or ruler if you look back far enough.

 

[livingdead]

How do you use proxy? Don't you think the forum has a responsibility to safeguard the identity of the users? After all, we live in world in the fists of fascists.

this forum cannot be responsible for anything.. its upto you to take care. every country has different law, always follow the local law where you live.

 

[Kuwaiti Girl]

What? The Ajam of Bahrain, some 200.000 people heavily mixed with local Arabs, are in the majority Shia and not Sunni. Hola are mostly Arabs. A few families might be Arabized or have non-Arab origins but the majority of them do have Arab ancestry as evident by their family names and appearance. There is a consensus about this wherever you look. They still mostly have Arab relatives in Iran spread from Southern Iran to Ahwaz.
The Sunni community in Bahrain has always been numerous. Shias likewise.

Nonsense. The people of Eastern Arabia are closer to fellow Arabians on the Arabian Peninsula than anyone else alongside Iraq who are 90% Arab too. The differences between people of Arabia are overall minimal. Shared ancient history (ancient Semitic and more recently Arab), geography, wider culture, language, religion, DNA etc. you name it confirms this clearly.

However yes, there are historical regions within Arabia (after all its a subcontinent the size of India), for instance Eastern Arabia (which again can be divided into a few historical regions) that share more in common with each other than say Hadhramis. However that does not change anything in the wider picture. Using that logic every single country of size, for instance England, could be divided into numerous countries based on historical provinces and geography alone.

I highly doubt that a "Eastern Arabian" state would ever emerge, rather I am absolutely convinced that Arabia will unite once again and form one strong federal state. Everything else would make little sense. The world is moving toward more unified states and areas of interest either politically, economically etc. and towards greater integration.

I agree that regional integration is inevitable, but it won't be in the form of annexation. The individual member states will continue to exist independently.

The world is a funny place. It's becoming more integrated and yet more fragmented all at the same time. Europe is a perfect case in point. The EU will continue to exist and expand over the coming years, in my opinion, but we will ironically see a lot of new states emerge within the EU, such as Catalonia and Scotland.

My point is, don't expect a formal Saudi annexation of Bahrain to ever take place. Bahrain can continue to function as a Saudi puppet state, but it will never officially be annexed.

Saudi Arabia itself might undergo federalization in the coming years, which will lead to increased regionalism. The region might have a supranational union of its own one day, but it won't stop independent member states from fragmenting or new states from emerging.

As for Bahrain's demographics, you'll have to trust me on this one. I know Bahrain very, very well. The Ajam in Bahrain are predominantly Sunni Muslim. The largest and most influential Sunni families in Bahrain are of Persian descent. They're very close to the ruling family, especially the Al-Fakhros, Kanoos, and Al-Moayads.

Bahrain has, ironically, naturalized a lot of non-Arabs over the years in order to reduce the percentage of the Shia population.

It's actually disgraceful when you think about it because the real indigenous Arabs of Bahrain (i.e. the Bahranis) are becoming a minority in their own backyard because their moronic government is too busy naturalizing Sunni non-Arabs all in the name of protecting Arabism! It can't get any more ironic than this.

By the way, in Bahrain, an indigenous Shia Arab is referred to as a "Bahrani". Indigenous Sunni Arabs, on the other hand, simply refer to themselves as "Bahrainis".

Anyway, the most unfortunate thing is that Bahrain hires mercenaries to crush its own population. As a person of partial Balochi descent, I feel ashamed that my own people (i.e. the Balochi people) are running off to Bahrain to suppress the indigenous population of that country. Do you know how many Balochis there are in Bahrain today? So many. I'm ashamed to say this but I actually have extended family members who went to Bahrain to get naturalized. I'm talking about extended relatives who literally came from the other side of the Persian Gulf. They don't utter a single word in Arabic. And the funny thing is, the Bahraini government, which claims to be the protector of "Arabism", has granted them permission to set up their own Balochi-language schools and colleges. Yes, Bahrain literally has Balochi-language schools lol. Ironically, that's the most tolerant thing the Bahraini government has ever done in its history lol.

Bahrain's culture is changing. The irony is that those who claim to be protecting Arabism have contributed to the destruction of Bahrain's Arab identity.

-------------------------

By the way, I'm not against naturalization per se. I'm against naturalization for nefarious reasons.

 

[Arabian Stallion]

I agree that regional integration is inevitable, but it won't be in the form of annexation. The individual member states will continue to exist independently.

The world is a funny place. It's becoming more integrated and yet more fragmented all at the same time. Europe is a perfect case in point. The EU will continue to exist and expand over the coming years, in my opinion, but we will ironically see a lot of new states emerge within the EU, such as Catalonia and Scotland.

My point is, don't expect a formal Saudi annexation of Bahrain to ever take place. Bahrain can continue to function as a Saudi puppet state, but it will never officially be annexed.

Saudi Arabia itself might undergo federalization in the coming years, which will lead to increased regionalism. The region might have a supranational union of its own one day, but it won't stop independent member states from fragmenting or new states from emerging.

As for Bahrain's demographics, you'll have to trust me on this one. I know Bahrain very, very well. The Ajam in Bahrain are predominantly Sunni Muslim. The largest and most influential Sunni families in Bahrain are of Persian descent. They're very close to the ruling family, especially the Al-Fakhros, Kanoos, and Al-Moayads.

Bahrain has, ironically, naturalized a lot of non-Arabs over the years in order to reduce the percentage of the Shia population.

It's actually disgraceful when you think about it because the real indigenous Arabs of Bahrain (i.e. the Bahranis) are becoming a minority in their own backyard because their moronic government is too busy naturalizing Sunni non-Arabs all in the name of protecting Arabism! It can't get any more ironic than this.

By the way, in Bahrain, an indigenous Shia Arab is referred to as a "Bahrani". Indigenous Sunni Arabs, on the other hand, simply refer to themselves as "Bahrainis".

Anyway, the most unfortunate thing is that Bahrain hires mercenaries to crush its own population. As a person of partial Balochi descent, I feel ashamed that my own people (i.e. the Balochi people) are running off to Bahrain to suppress the indigenous population of that country. Do you know how many Balochis there are in Bahrain today? So many. I'm ashamed to say this but I actually have extended family members who went to Bahrain to get naturalized. I'm talking about extended relatives who literally came from the other side of the Persian Gulf. They don't utter a single word in Arabic. And the funny thing is, the Bahraini government, which claims to be the protector of "Arabism", has granted them permission to set up their own Balochi-language schools and colleges. Yes, Bahrain literally has Balochi-language schools lol. Ironically, that's the most tolerant thing the Bahraini government has ever done in its history lol.

Bahrain's culture is changing. The irony is that those who claim to be protecting Arabism have contributed to the destruction of Bahrain's Arab identity.

I was joking about the annexation part, dear. I thought that it was obvious, was it not?

Europe was always fragmented and dominated by warring kingdoms and later imperial powers. However after WW1 and especially WW2 and the social, economic and political changes that occurred in that period and afterwards, greater social, political and economic integrity became the priority and I honestly don't see that overall development changing regardless of whether Catalunya or Scotland become independent states. Regardless of the greater EURO-sceptic behavior as well. Other than those two examples what other separatist movements are there who can succeed in the near future? I can only think of the Basque Country. The development towards more integrated regional units cannot be stopped. At most hampered for some time. Neither globalization.

I don't think that KSA will ever fragment. Before 1932 what is today KSA and Arabia, much like most of the Arab and Muslim world, the world in fact, was divided into numerous kingdoms, emirates, sultanates, city states, sheikdoms, imamates etc. Often at odds or at war. Every sane person in KSA, especially if it becomes a democratic state one day, should be able to see the strength of unity with people that share many, many more similarities than the opposite (as is the case with all of Arabia and the Arab world), rather than fragmentation. Do you think that the average Iranian for instance would like if their country were to be divided by ethnicity? In such a case Iran would cease to exist as it would be divided into Arab, Baloch, Kurdish, Azeri, Turkmen, Farsi, Lur, Qashqai etc. parts. They already lost large territory due to such sentiments and lost wars not that long ago.

The most influential families in Bahrain, including the ruling family, are Sunni Arabs. Just like in every single GCC state which is only naturally.

As I wrote earlier Hola Arabs, which means "Migrant Arabs" basically are in their vast majority Iranian Arabs who migrated back to Eastern Arabia. Among them there might be a minority of Farsi, Lur, Baloch or whatever families however. Just like not every "Ajami" family is of Farsi, Baloch or Lur origin but some are also of Iranian Arab origin.
Anyway I don't care about this topic as they are all Bahrainis today and part of the Arab world and have adopted local culture and many have mixed.

“ Little is known about the Arab migrants who settled on the Iranian coast between Bushehr and Lengeh in the late 1500s. They were a disparate group of small tribes of sailors, traders, fishermen, pearl divers, and cultivators. Although they were all referred to as the Bani Hula, they were not a uniform group. In fact, they were each other's fiercest competitors for access to the pearl banks. ”

— The Persian Gulf: The Hula Arabs of The Shibkuh Coast of Iran by Willem Floor

I cannot post links yet but there are plenty of useful and objective information out there that confirms what I say.

Everything that I have seen, read or heard about, tells me that the majority of the Ajami community in Bahrain is Shia. I have not seen proof of the opposite. If you have information that proves otherwise you are very welcome to share it. I would like to see it, at least. Anyway none of this matters in the overall picture or what I was talking about initially.

I know about Sunni Arabs and mostly Pakistanis getting citizenship in Bahrain. However the extend of it appears to be overblown.

I don't think that Bahrain's Arab identity is "destroyed", lol, and I don't think that a few hundred or thousand Baloch people (who have close historical ties to Arabs and some are even mixed with Arabs since long ago due to migration and common trade ties) who will eventually be absorbed by the Bahraini culture sooner rather than later (like all migrants) will change that. Moreover we are talking about a small island with no more than 1.5 million people of which only around 600.000 or so are locals.

Anyway my point was simply that I am in favor of political reforms in Bahrain as well as the GCC and wider Arab world but I don't support the few reformers within Bahrain who want to import the poisonous Wilayat al-Faqih system into Bahrain. That would ruin the country. A country that has its problems but overall is a success story compared to what this region has to offer otherwise, lol. Of course they will not succeed with that but I am just voicing my opinion. However yes, GCC needs political reforms but so does Iran and everyone else in the region, including Israel.

 

[Falcon29]

Pretty much.

He's referring to Egyptian MB and Syrian opposition, which you're against. So no, there is no 'pretty much' or any agreement here by you.

 

[Mrc]

Thanks for the advice. Are there any safe VPN services that don't come with malware/spyware?

Try hidden ninja / supernet... it does charge a very small fee annually...

 

[Falcon29]

I was joking about the annexation part, dear. I thought that it was obvious, was it not?

Don't refer to this whale as 'dear', being a female doesn't excuse her irrational hatred towards Arabs. This person disregards all Arabs of Sunni background, and doesn't even consider them as fabric of Bahraini, Iraqi or Yemeni people. Because she has severely odd worldview where Arab Sunni's are people of non-Persian background, while Arab Shia's somehow have Persian descent of some sort. And she want's that 'Persian linage' to take over every nation. That's what she means when she states the Yemeni, Iraqi, Syrian, Bahraini, etc...people need to be rewarded with 'justice'. While also 'Saudi Arabia needs to move away from Wahhabism', is the same meaning, that only Persianism should be promoted in the region and should be dominant.

I have no clue how some of you are tolerating this, in the next 10 or 20 years at this pace, they will take over much of the Arab world, and throughout the whole way, will claim victimization, no matter how many states they ruin or how many Arab Sunni's are killed. This makes such people an enemy of a state. Either they're loyal to their country or not, it's not simple case of disagreeing with governance or people. It's overreaching and instigating sectarian tensions in order for one ethnicity to dominate. Arab states need to mass expulsions ASAP, or there will be civil war across the region in the near future.

Anyway she should stick to anime and technology related stuff, and quit viewing her Sunni countrymen as enemies, and quit wishing for the demise of Saudi Arabia.

 

[HAIDER]

Democracy in the premises ............Good luck Bahraini people...

 

[Kuwaiti Girl]

I was joking about the annexation part, dear. I thought that it was obvious, was it not?

Europe was always fragmented and dominated by warring kingdoms and later imperial powers. However after WW1 and especially WW2 and the social, economic and political changes that occurred in that period and afterwards, greater social, political and economic integrity became the priority and I honestly don't see that overall development changing regardless of whether Catalunya or Scotland become independent states. Regardless of the greater EURO-sceptic behavior as well. Other than those two examples what other separatist movements are there who can succeed in the near future? I can only think of the Basque Country. The development towards more integrated regional units cannot be stopped. At most hampered for some time. Neither globalization.

I don't think that KSA will ever fragment. Before 1932 what is today KSA and Arabia, much like most of the Arab and Muslim world, the world in fact, was divided into numerous kingdoms, emirates, sultanates, city states, sheikdoms, imamates etc. Often at odds or at war. Every sane person in KSA, especially if it becomes a democratic state one day, should be able to see the strength of unity with people that share many, many more similarities than the opposite (as is the case with all of Arabia and the Arab world), rather than fragmentation. Do you think that the average Iranian for instance would like if their country were to be divided by ethnicity? In such a case Iran would cease to exist as it would be divided into Arab, Baloch, Kurdish, Azeri, Turkmen, Farsi, Lur, Qashqai etc. parts. They already lost large territory due to such sentiments and lost wars not that long ago.

The most influential families in Bahrain, including the ruling family, are Sunni Arabs. Just like in every single GCC state which is only naturally.

As I wrote earlier Hola Arabs, which means "Migrant Arabs" basically are in their vast majority Iranian Arabs who migrated back to Eastern Arabia. Among them there might be a minority of Farsi, Lur, Baloch or whatever families however. Just like not every "Ajami" family is of Farsi, Baloch or Lur origin but some are also of Iranian Arab origin.
Anyway I don't care about this topic as they are all Bahrainis today and part of the Arab world and have adopted local culture and many have mixed.

“ Little is known about the Arab migrants who settled on the Iranian coast between Bushehr and Lengeh in the late 1500s. They were a disparate group of small tribes of sailors, traders, fishermen, pearl divers, and cultivators. Although they were all referred to as the Bani Hula, they were not a uniform group. In fact, they were each other's fiercest competitors for access to the pearl banks. ”

— The Persian Gulf: The Hula Arabs of The Shibkuh Coast of Iran by Willem Floor

I cannot post links yet but there are plenty of useful and objective information out there that confirms what I say.

Everything that I have seen, read or heard about, tells me that the majority of the Ajami community in Bahrain is Shia. I have not seen proof of the opposite. If you have information that proves otherwise you are very welcome to share it. I would like to see it, at least. Anyway none of this matters in the overall picture or what I was talking about initially.

I know about Sunni Arabs and mostly Pakistanis getting citizenship in Bahrain. However the extend of it appears to be overblown.

I don't think that Bahrain's Arab identity is "destroyed", lol, and I don't think that a few hundred or thousand Baloch people (who have close historical ties to Arabs and some are even mixed with Arabs since long ago due to migration and common trade ties) who will eventually be absorbed by the Bahraini culture sooner rather than later (like all migrants) will change that. Moreover we are talking about a small island with no more than 1.5 million people of which only around 600.000 or so are locals.

Anyway my point was simply that I am in favor of political reforms in Bahrain as well as the GCC and wider Arab world but I don't support the few reformers within Bahrain who want to import the poisonous Wilayat al-Faqih system into Bahrain. That would ruin the country. A country that has its problems but overall is a success story compared to what this region has to offer otherwise, lol. Of course they will not succeed with that but I am just voicing my opinion. However yes, GCC needs political reforms but so does Iran and everyone else in the region, including Israel.

"Hola" is a plural term for "Howly", which itself is a corruption of the term "Kowly", which means "gypsy" in Persian. It refers to the wandering nomads of the Iranian plateau. They can be of any descent, but most of them were either Persian or a mixture of African and Persian.

A lot of people around here tend to fabricate their own history because they're too ashamed of it. The Hola of Bahrain are too ashamed to admit that they were gypsies and that they're of Iranian descent. They claim to be Arabs for societal reasons. Likewise, a lot of Balochis in Kuwait claim that they're Arabs, even though the Balochis are an Iranic people lol. I'm one of the few Balochis in the region who aren't ashamed of being non-Arabs.

If you ask any Bahraini who the Hola people are, s/he would tell you. They're definitely not Arabs. A few years ago, someone on Wikipedia posted an academic link that showed that the Hola people were genetically related to the peoples of the Iranian plateau, but it has since been removed.

Anyway, I really don't want to argue over their identity. You can ask the Bahrainis for more details about their history.

As for Bahrain's culture changing, I'm afraid it is. If you ever visit Bahrain in the future, head down to inner Muharraq, which was historically the heart of the indigenous Sunni Arab community. Today, it's overrun by non-Arabs who've been recently naturalized. In fact, the people in inner Muharraq speak a weird Iranian dialect that even Persian speakers don't understand. Have you heard of the Gerashi people? Their population has swelled dramatically over the years. They speak a weird Iranian language. I've only heard this language in two places I've been to: Muharraq (Bahrain) and old Doha (Qatar).

The future of countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran rests on its leaders. Both countries can avoid fragmentation if they put their house in order. Iranians can proudly claim that their country is a civilization and one of the oldest countries in the World, and they won't be wrong about that. But it won't save their country from future fragmentation if they don't take care of their problems. Likewise, Saudis can claim that the peoples of the Arabian Peninsula are all the same and related to one another, but that won't save Saudi Arabia from fragmentation either. Even the most homogeneous countries in the World, such as China, have undergone fragmentation and re-integration over the course of thousands of years, depending on the circumstances and a number of internal/external factors.

The point is, nothing's guaranteed.

Anyway, I hope Bahrain undergoes reforms as well. I sure as hell don't want Bahrain to end up like Iran. I won't be able to enjoy visiting Bahrain if it turns into an Islamic state lol.

I want Bahrain to remain largely secular, just like it is today. But I hope the government fixes the political and human rights problems before it's too late.

 

[Arabian Stallion]

Don't refer to this whale as 'dear', being a female doesn't excuse her irrational hatred towards Arabs. This person disregards all Arabs of Sunni background, and doesn't even consider them as fabric of Bahraini, Iraqi or Yemeni people. Because she has severely odd worldview where Arab Sunni's are people of non-Persian background, while Arab Shia's somehow have Persian descent of some sort. And she want's that 'Persian linage' to take over every nation. That's what she means when she states the Yemeni, Iraqi, Syrian, Bahraini, etc...people need to be rewarded with 'justice'. While also 'Saudi Arabia needs to move away from Wahhabism', is the same meaning, that only Persianism should be promoted in the region and should be dominant.

I have no clue how some of you are tolerating this, in the next 10 or 20 years at this pace, they will take over much of the Arab world, and throughout the whole way, will claim victimization, no matter how many states they ruin or how many Arab Sunni's are killed. This makes such people an enemy of a state. Either they're loyal to their country or not, it's not simple case of disagreeing with governance or people. It's overreaching and instigating sectarian tensions in order for one ethnicity to dominate. Arab states need to mass expulsions ASAP, or there will be civil war across the region in the near future.

Anyway she should stick to anime and technology related stuff, and quit viewing her Sunni countrymen as enemies, and quit wishing for the demise of Saudi Arabia.

Brother there are 450 million Arabs worldwide (second largest ethnic group after the Han Chinese in the world) and over 20 Arab countries. No other ethnicity in the world has that many countries. The Arab world is the cradle of civilization (home to the oldest civilizations in human history - mostly Semitic ones) and Arab identity is one of the strongest identities that you can find.

Do you honestly thing that a largely failed state such as Iran that has tons of its own problems or some 2 million Arab citizens of Iranian origin (there are more Arabs in Iran or people of Arab origin than people of Iranian origin in the Arab world) mainly in the GCC (almost none are left in Iraq as they were deported back to Iran by Saddam Hussein) are going to threaten any of that?

All the conflicts in the Arab world are sadly fueled largely by the internal dynamics in the respective Arab countries that face unrest in the eve of the Arab Spring and outside forces (mostly US and Russia) and their regional allies (KSA, Turkey and Iran) fuel the fire to some extend.

There is no reason to be sad or hopeless on the long run, if you are student of history, as we are currently facing political, social, economic and generational changes. Not since the events that occurred after WW1 have we been living through such changing times. Look at Europe and what they went through in more recent history (1-2 generations ago) during WW1 and WW2 where 100 million people perished and the subsequent political, social and economic changes that emerged afterwards. What we have lived through so far is a HUGE joke in comparison. Let time do its job. I am confident overall after analyzing recent events much more closely. Every civilization and people have ups and downs. We have been blessed with an ancient history that is unmatched by anyone, amble land, resources, one of the most strategic locations in the world, amble resources, YOUTH (which is the most valuable asset if used properly) etc. for us to continue in the same manner forever.

Honestly I don't care if there are some anti-Arab people with inferiority complexes on some Pakistani forum or about their agenda. What will that change in the wider picture? Nothing. Let them bark for all I care.

"Hola" is a plural term for "Howly", which itself is a corruption of the term "Kowly", which means "gypsy" in Persian. It refers to the wandering nomads of the Iranian plateau. They can be of any descent, but most of them were either Persian or a mixture of African and Persian.

A lot of people around here tend to fabricate their own history because they're too ashamed of it. The Hola of Bahrain are too ashamed to admit that they were gypsies and that they're of Iranian descent. They claim to be Arabs for societal reasons. Likewise, a lot of Balochis in Kuwait claim that they're Arabs, even though the Balochis are an Iranic people lol. I'm one of the few Balochis in the region who aren't ashamed of being non-Arabs.

If you ask any Bahraini who the Hola people are, s/he would tell you. They're definitely not Arabs. A few years ago, someone on Wikipedia posted an academic link that showed that the Hola people were genetically related to the peoples of the Iranian plateau, but it has since been removed.

Anyway, I really don't want to argue over their identity. You can ask the Bahrainis for more details about their history.

As for Bahrain's culture changing, I'm afraid it is. If you ever visit Bahrain in the future, head down to inner Muharraq, which was historically the heart of the indigenous Sunni Arab community. Today, it's overrun by non-Arabs who've been recently naturalized. In fact, the people in inner Muharraq speak a weird Iranian dialect that even Persian speakers don't understand. Have you heard of the Gerashi people? Their population has swelled dramatically over the years. They speak a weird Iranian language. I've only heard this language in two places I've been to: Muharraq (Bahrain) and old Doha (Qatar).

The future of countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran rests on its leaders. Both countries can avoid fragmentation if they put their house in order. Iranians can proudly claim that their country is a civilization and one of the oldest countries in the World, and they won't be wrong about that. But it won't save their country from future fragmentation if they don't take care of their problems. Likewise, Saudis can claim that the peoples of the Arabian Peninsula are all the same and related to one another, but that won't save Saudi Arabia from fragmentation either. Even the most homogeneous countries in the World, such as China, have undergone fragmentation and re-integration over the course of thousands of years, depending on the circumstances and a number of internal/external factors.

The point is, nothing's guaranteed.

Anyway, I hope Bahrain undergoes reforms as well. I sure as hell don't want Bahrain to end up like Iran. I won't be able to enjoy visiting Bahrain if it turns into an Islamic state lol.

I want Bahrain to remain largely secular, just like it is today. But I hope the government fixes the political and human rights problems before it's too late.

Let us disagree about the Hola Arabs as we won't agree it seems. I can only state what I have stated before and what the vast majority of all sources say. Nothing from what I have seen, read or heard about tells me that the majority of them are non-Arabs. Arabia has older civilizations than Iran and moreover Arabia has been inhabited by humans much longer than Iran. Arabia is an ancient historical region much like Iran. The only difference here is that Iran was much more centralized (ruled by absolute kings) while Arabia was much more "democratic" in the sense that it was dominated by city states and much less centralized kingdoms etc. Arabia's sphere of influence was nearby Egypt, Levant and Mesopotamia. Only at the advent of Islam, where Arabs became united and truly imperialistic for the first time, did we turn into a truly world power and we surpassed all previous Farsi achievements by building 3 larger empires and 3 of the 11 largest empires in the world. More than any ethnicity in the top 15. As well as our influence which remains to this very day. Besides Iran was born out of Semitic Mesopotamian culture that they borrowed heavily from on all fronts.

Anyway I agree that the region faces similar problems that must be solved for the betterment of the entire region.

 

[Falcon29]

"

Anyway, I hope Bahrain undergoes reforms as well. I sure as hell don't want Bahrain to end up like Iran. I won't be able to enjoy visiting Bahrain if it turns into an Islamic state lol.

I want Bahrain to remain largely secular, just like it is today. But I hope the government fixes the political and human rights problems before it's too late.

Why would it turn Islamic anyway, Shia's are not even religious. Shia's identify as Shia in regards to their supposed 'Persian' background. It has nothing to do with the religion of Islam, religion of Islam is used to advance/use better effective means for that agenda. That's it. In the ME, some of you make it appear as a religious struggle, in front of Western audience it's a humanitarian struggle against Muslim terrorists and evil Islam and what not. Which is more than enough validation for the theory that is an ethnic crusade.

@Arabian Stallion

Well, good luck, I don't see how this ethnic tension will end, on contrary one side is getting more confident. They probably wanted to take it more slowly in areas like Bahrain and Yemen, but prior to Russian intervention in Syria, the coalition KSA setup was advancing, and Iran needed to play a card to hurt KSA elsewhere, and that was played in Yemen. It could have been prevented if there was balance of power or earlier Russia intervention.

 

[Kuwaiti Girl]

Let us disagree about the Hola Arabs as we won't agree it seems. I can only state what I have stated before and what the vast majority of all sources say. Nothing from what I have seen, read or heard about tells me that the majority of them are non-Arabs. Arabia has older civilizations than Iran and moreover Arabia has been inhabited by humans much longer than Iran. Arabia is an ancient historical region much like Iran. The only difference here is that Iran was much more centralized (ruled by absolute kings) while Arabia was much more "democratic" in the sense that it was dominated by city states and much less centralized kingdoms etc. Arabia's sphere of influence was nearby Egypt, Levant and Mesopotamia. Only at the advent of Islam, where Arabs became united and truly imperialistic for the first time, did we turn into a truly world power and we surpassed all previous Farsi achievements by building 3 larger empires and 3 of the 11 largest empires in the world. More than any ethnicity in the top 15. As well as our influence which remains to this very day. Besides Iran was born out of Semitic Mesopotamian culture that they borrowed heavily from on all fronts.

Anyway I agree that the region faces similar problems that must be solved for the betterment of the entire region.

That's true. It explains why the cultures of Iraq and Iran are very similar.

At the end of the day, all human civilizations and cultures can be traced back to one of three places: the Fertile Crescent, the Indus Valley, and China / East Asia.

Ultimately, there are no real differences. Even Persian and Arabic are distantly related to each other via the Nostratic language family:

Here's to a better future for the region.