Administrative reforms Context The history of Al Khawalid dates back to the 1920s when the British were pushing for administrative reforms. The nature of the reforms, sometimes referred to as "reforms of the twenties" was administrative only, leaving out political issues such as legitimacy and public representation. They were mainly focused on reshuffling of public offices and economic resources. By 1921, the country was divided into two camps. The first supporting the reforms was composed of the elder son of the ruler and the heir apparent,
Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa (1872–1942), the British political agent, Major C. K. Daly (1920–26) and the Shia, who at time composed about half of population. The opposing faction was composed of the ruler,
Isa ibn Ali Al Khalifa, his younger son Abdulla, the Khalids and tribesmen of
Sunni origin. The heavily taxed Shia were desperate to get rid of the tribal regime and together with Major Daly claimed to be victims of corruption, mismanagement as well as "atrocities and oppression". The opposing faction rejected the reforms on the basis that equity and standardization of law would remove their advantages such as exemption from taxes and sovereignty over estates. A series of pro and anti reform petitions were submitted by the two factions to different British officials including the
Foreign Office. However, the situation remained unchanged for two years as the British were hesitating.
Role of the Khalids Khalid bin Ali, the Al Khawalid ancestor, was the governor of
Riffa and ruled over
Sitra and
Nabih Saleh islands, and his elder son Ibrahim controlled Jabalat Habashi. The Khalids were known for being hard on the
Shia. In 1923, the events took a new turn. Wanting to end the calls for reform, the Khalids and
Al Dawasir tribe used armed tactics to intimidate reform supporters. The former's paramilitary forces numbered 100, about 20 percent of the total Al Khalifa manpower, while the latter had about 400 men. Al Dawasir attacked Shia villages of
Barbar and
A'ali, while the Khalids attacked Sitra island. The attacks resulted in the killing of 12 villagers, burning of several houses and raping of women. The violence settled after Colonel Knox, the British acting Political Resident arrived in Bahrain in two
gunships. Knox forced Isa bin Ali to abdicate in favor of his elder son, Hamad. The Khalids had agreed to reduce taxes on residents of Sitra following the visit. However, as soon as Knox had left, taxes were increased again, and Shia residents continued to be subjected to forced labor. The situation prompted some 500 Shia to hold a protest in front of the British Agency demanding a solution to the situation and equal taxation of citizens (several taxes were only imposed on the Shia). Writing for the
Journal of Arabian Studies, Justin Gengler argues that the reason behind the involvement of the Khalids was probably their father's ambition to hold a senior position if they succeeded in stopping reforms and placing Abdulla bin Isa as ruler. Gengler added: When in 1869 the British selected Shaikh ʿĪsā bin ʿAlī as the next ruler of Bahrain ... Shaikh Khālid, was obliged to accept the governorship of Rifā ... [he] could hope to gain immensely if the final defeat of the reforms were accompanied ... thereby rectifying the historical accident by which he was sidelined from power more than fifty years earlier. The petitions and political crisis continued to the reign of Hamad (1923–42) who —encouraged by the British— began it by setting up a criminal court to try those involved in the violence including his first cousins, the Khalids. The ruler was put in a dilemma between his tribal alignment and public law, and so he exiled his cousins, but paid their expenses. The Khalids, however, held a deep grudge against residents of Sitra who witnessed against them, and in 1924 attacked the island before their exile, killing several Shia men, women and children. The attackers were sentenced to death following major Shia protests and a lengthy second trial, but managed to escape before the sentence was carried out. Their father was confined to
Manama. The trials marked the first time in Bahrain's history that members of the ruling family were convicted.
1924–99 Gradually, the Khalids were pardoned and allowed back to Bahrain after the leaders of the Shia community in Sitra were persuaded that the Khalids would not attack their villages again. Ibrahim bin Khalid, the eldest of the Khalids, who was exiled to
Zubarah (
Qatar) for 10 years, was convicted in 1929 of being responsible for a failed assassination attempt on the ruler, his first cousin, in 1926. Instead of getting tried, the ruler appointed Ibrahim at his
Sakhir Palace. His brother Salman, originally exiled for 10 years, was allowed back in 1928, while Abdulla was probably not exiled as he was an infant when the 1923 and 1924 incidents occurred. Still, the Khalids were kept outside the inner decision-making circle until the reign of
Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (1999–present). They were also kept away from government positions when
Charles Belgrave was the adviser of the ruler (1926–57) as "the colonial administration [did] not see fit to re-empower the most militant opponents of [the administrative reforms]," Gengler explained. Other factors that kept the Khalids away from power was their relative lack of efficiency to head the new specialized offices and their self-isolation due to "lingering enmity toward the British as well as to some in the ruling branch of the Āl Khalīfa". They however had personal links with the center of power as two rulers,
Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa I (1942–61) and his son
Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa (1961–99) had married from them: Latifa bint Ibrahim bin Khalid and
Hessa bint Salman bin Ibrahim bin Khalid respectively. The latter is the mother of the current
King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa. The first return of the Khalids to government was in 1967, when Abdulla bin Khalid was appointed as Minister of Municipalities and Rural Affairs. In 1973, he was given the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs which he kept until a cabinet reshuffle in November 2002. During the 1970s, Abdulla opposed the constitutional reforms that paved the road to the short-lived
1973–5 parliament. He was also critical of the ruling family, highlighting their "rampant economic exploitation" and "expropriat[ion] [of Shia farmers] properties". Abdulla's older brother, Salman was also critical of the ruling family. Salman and his sons however did not head top positions during the reign of Isa bin Salman, either due to refusing such positions or to not being offered them as a result of Salman's criticism of the family. Salman was particularly noted to hate the British and parts of the ruling family. ==Return to power==