1981 failed coup d'état in Bahrain
Encyclopedia
After Ayatollah Khomeini came to power in Iran in 1979, Tehran made clear its intention to spread its Islamic Revolution
throughout the Middle East
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/26414.htm. Arab
states on the Persian Gulf
with their large Shia populations were seen as primary targets and the Iranian government immediately set about supporting Persian Gulf Islamist organisations with money, arms, logistics and training in urban warfare.
One of the most dramatic manifestations of this strategy was the failed coup d’etat by militants in Bahrain in 1981. Operating under the auspices of the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain
, an Islamist organisation with ties to Iran, the plan was for a small force of Bahraini militants augmented by Iranian intelligence officers to assassinate the emirate’s leadership in order to prompt a general uprising of Bahraini Shia as a prelude to the installation of a theocratic government. An Iranian based Iraqi cleric, Hojjat ol-Eslam Kamal Haidari, was to have been put in power as Supreme Leader
of a government of clerics or a theocracy
.
The coup d'état
attempt was foiled after a tip off from another emirate when their security services became suspicious of a large party of young men transiting from Iran to Bahrain. The coup plotters were quickly arrested and large arms caches as well as communications equipment and imitation military uniforms were found in sites around the island. Details were uncovered of the plans to assassinate leading members of the royal family and cabinet ministers, while other units were to take over vital infrastructure facilities such as Bahrain International Airport
.
The attempted coup led to a steep downturn in relations between the states of the newly formed Gulf Cooperation Council and Iran. It was also blamed for increasing fissures in Persian Gulf
Arab societies between Sunnis and Shias.
Unlike other Middle Eastern countries where those involved in failed coups have usually been executed, the 73 people arrested were sentenced from between seven years to life imprisonment. They were released in 2001 when all political prisoners were amnestied by King Hamad as part of political reforms. Many of the coup plotters are now active politically in the opposition Islamic Action Society, the successor groups established by the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain.
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
throughout the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/26414.htm. Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
states on the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
with their large Shia populations were seen as primary targets and the Iranian government immediately set about supporting Persian Gulf Islamist organisations with money, arms, logistics and training in urban warfare.
One of the most dramatic manifestations of this strategy was the failed coup d’etat by militants in Bahrain in 1981. Operating under the auspices of the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain
Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain
The Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain was a Shia resistance group active from the 1970s to the 1990s, that advocated democracy in Bahrain and the overthrow of the ruling Sunni Al Khalifa family. It was responsible for the failed 1981 coup attempt inspired by the Iranian revolution two...
, an Islamist organisation with ties to Iran, the plan was for a small force of Bahraini militants augmented by Iranian intelligence officers to assassinate the emirate’s leadership in order to prompt a general uprising of Bahraini Shia as a prelude to the installation of a theocratic government. An Iranian based Iraqi cleric, Hojjat ol-Eslam Kamal Haidari, was to have been put in power as Supreme Leader
Supreme leader
A supreme leader typically refers to a figure in the highest leadership position of an entity, group, organization, or state, who exercises strong or all-powerful authority over it. In religion, the supreme leader or supreme leaders is God or Gods...
of a government of clerics or a theocracy
Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
.
The coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
attempt was foiled after a tip off from another emirate when their security services became suspicious of a large party of young men transiting from Iran to Bahrain. The coup plotters were quickly arrested and large arms caches as well as communications equipment and imitation military uniforms were found in sites around the island. Details were uncovered of the plans to assassinate leading members of the royal family and cabinet ministers, while other units were to take over vital infrastructure facilities such as Bahrain International Airport
Bahrain International Airport
Bahrain International Airport is an international airport located in Muharraq, an island on the northern tip of Bahrain, about northeast of the capital Manama...
.
The attempted coup led to a steep downturn in relations between the states of the newly formed Gulf Cooperation Council and Iran. It was also blamed for increasing fissures in Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
Arab societies between Sunnis and Shias.
Unlike other Middle Eastern countries where those involved in failed coups have usually been executed, the 73 people arrested were sentenced from between seven years to life imprisonment. They were released in 2001 when all political prisoners were amnestied by King Hamad as part of political reforms. Many of the coup plotters are now active politically in the opposition Islamic Action Society, the successor groups established by the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain.
See also
- BahrainBahrain' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
- Islamic Action Society
- Islamic Front for the Liberation of BahrainIslamic Front for the Liberation of BahrainThe Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain was a Shia resistance group active from the 1970s to the 1990s, that advocated democracy in Bahrain and the overthrow of the ruling Sunni Al Khalifa family. It was responsible for the failed 1981 coup attempt inspired by the Iranian revolution two...
- Politics of BahrainPolitics of BahrainPolitics of Bahrain takes place in a framework of a constitutional monarchy, with an executive appointed by the King of Bahrain, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and a bi-cameral legislature, with the Chamber of Deputies elected by universal suffrage, and the Shura Council appointed directly by the king...
- Iran-Arab Relations (Bahrain)