Research Article
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“Iran’s Shiite Influence Belt Policy: The Example of Bahraini Shiites

Year 2022, Volume: 25 Issue: 63, 377 - 400, 15.12.2022
https://doi.org/10.15745/da.1177733

Abstract

Along with the Persian perspective inherited from the Persian Empire, Shi'ism has significantly influenced and continues to influence the geopolitical and geo-cultural education of present-day Iran. With its politicization, Shi'ism has become one of the most important factors, perhaps the most important, in the formation and preservation of Iran's national identity. Iran, which is in contact with Shiites living in various regions such as Middle East-Africa-Central Asia, intensified this contact after the Arab Spring process. In this article, Shiites in Bahrain are discussed in the context of Iran's Shiite Influence Zone Policy. In the article, firstly, general information about the sociological and religious structure of Bahrain has been given, and then the characteristics of the Shiite groups and leaders in Bahrain have been mentioned. Then, the level and activities of these groups' relations with Iran, the Shiite militia groups, their characteristics, and their work on behalf of Iran are discussed. The research has carried out based on the literature review.

References

  • Abdulla, Namo. “What Is Bahrain's Saraya al-Mukhtar Militia? VOA. Accessed 19 December 2020. https://www.voanews.com/a/extremism-watch_what-bahrains-saraya-al-mukhtar-militia/6199751.html
  • Al-Masqati, Amani. “The Interior Ministry: Rida Al Ghasra, Mahmoud Yahya, and Mostafa Abedali were killed during their failed attempt escaping to Iran” Al-Wasat News. Accessed 09 February 2017. http://www.alwasatnews.com/news/1209083.html
  • Al-Wafa. “Full Text: ‘Stability and Resilience”. Accessed 10 November 2018. https://al-wafa.net/2805/النصّ-الكامل-وثيقة-الثّبات-والصمود/
  • Albayrakoğlu, Esra Pakin. “ABD-Körfez İşbirliği Konseyi İlişkilerinde İran Faktörü”. International Relations 8/ 31 (2011), 95 – 116. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/articlefile/540160
  • Arı, Tayyar. “20. Yüzyılda Orta Doğu: Sömürgecilikten Bağımsızlığa”. In Orta Doğu’da Siyaset. ed. Davut Dursun and Tayyar Arı. 30-67. Eskişehir: Anadolu University, 2013.
  • Ataman, Muhittin - Demir, Neslihan. “Suudi Arabistan 2011”. Ortadoğu Yıllığı 7 (2012). https://ormer.sakarya.edu.tr/uploads/files/oy2012_183_212.pdf
  • Ayhan, Veysel. “Bahreyn’de Arap Kışı: Bahreyn’deki Şiilerin Demokrasi Mücadelesi”. Mülkiye Dergisi 35 / 272 (2011), 119 - 136 . https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/mulkiye/issue/4/47
  • Belfer, Mitchell. Small State, Dangerous Region: A Strategic Assessment of Bahrain. Frankfurt: Peter Lang Publishing, 2014.
  • Belfer, Mitchell - Alshaikh, Khalid. Iran’s Clandestine War on the Kingdom of Bahrain: Saraya al Ashtar and the Military Wing of Hezbollah Bahrain. King Faisal Center Report, 2019.
  • Bozorgmehr, Najmeh - Blitz, James. “Khamenei Dismisses Pressure on Iran”. Financial Times. Accessed 3 February 2012. https://www.ft.com/content/31c0fc74-4e5c-11e1-8670-00144feabdc0
  • Donaghy, Rori. “Bahrain Expels Prominent Religious Clerics”. Middle East Eye. Accessed 12 February 2015. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/bahrain-expels-prominent-religious-cleric,
  • Downs, Kevin. “A Theoretical Analysis of the Saudi Iranian Rivalry in Bahrain”. Journal of Politics and International Studies 8 (Winter 2012/ 13), 203-237 https://docplayer.net/62243669-A-theoretical-analysis-of-the-saudi-iranian-rivalry-in-bahrain.html
  • Gause IIIi F.Gregory. Saudi Arabia in the New Middle East. Council on Foreign Relations Special Report 63, (2011).
  • Gordon, Edward. “Resolution of the Bahrain Dispute”. The American Journal of International Law 65/ 3 (July 1971), 560–568. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2198978
  • Gulf States Newsletter. “Iranian Threat Focuses Minds of GCC leaders”. Issue 888, Accessed 29 October 2010. https://www.gsn-online.com/news-centre/article/iranian-threat-focuses-minds-gcc-leaders
  • Justh, Krisztina. “Protest, Oppression and the Politics of Citizenship in Bahrain and Kuwait”. Central European University Nationalism Studies Program, Budapest: Hungary. 2013, 12-14.
  • Kam, Ephraim. “Iran’s Shiite Foreign Legion”. (The Institute for National Security Studies. 2017, 24. https://www.inss.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/irans-shiite-foreign-legion.pdf
  • Kéchichian, Joseph Albert. “Can Conservative Arab Gulf Monarchies Endure a Fourth War in the Persian Gulf?. Middle East Journal 61/ 2 (Spring 2007), 283-306. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4330389
  • Knights, Michael - Levitt, Mathew. “The Evolution of Shia Insurgency in Bahrain ''. Combating Terrorism Center Sentinel (January 2018), 18-25. https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/evolution-shia-insurgency-bahrain
  • Macdonald, Alex. “Rise of Jaish al-Islam Marks a Turn in Syria Conflict”. Middle East Eye. Accessed 7 May 2015. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/rise-jaish-al-islam-marksturn-syria-conflict
  • Maynard, Brian. “The Role of the Ulama in Shııte Social Movements: Bahrain, Lebanon, and Iraq”. (Monterey: California, Naval Postgraduate School, 2005), 56-58.
  • Orton, Kyle. “Iran Escalates its Subversive Activities in Bahrain”. Henry Jackson Society. Accessed 19 November 2017. https://kyleorton.co.uk/2017/11/19/iran-escalates-its-subversive-activities-in-bahrain/
  • Peterson, J.E. “Bahrain: Reform - Promise and Reality, in Political Liberalization in the Persian Gulf”. (London: Hurst & Company, 2009), 168.
  • Policy Media Center. “116 Suspects Arrested in Counter-terror Operations”. Accessed 11 August 2022. https://www.policemc.gov.bh/en/news/ministry/79965
  • Pollack, Kenneth. “The Persian Puzzle: The Conflict Between Iran and America “. New York: Random House, 2004.
  • Shehabı, Ala’a vd., (ed) Bahrain’s Uprising. London: Zed Books, 2011.
  • Ramadan, Tarıq. The Arab Awakening: Islam and the New Middle East. London: Penguin, 2012.)
  • Smith Crispin - Malik Hamdi. “Profile: Unite 10.000,’ Militia Spotlight Profiles”. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Accessed 25 April 2021. https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/profile-unit-10000
  • Smith, Phillip. “Saraya al-Karar: Bahrain’s Sporadic Bombers”. Jihadology. Accessed 22 August 2022. http://jihadology.net/2014/12/01/hizballah-cavalcade-saraya-al-karar-bahrains-sporadic-bombers/
  • Smith, Phillip. “Asa’ib al-Muqawama al-Bahrainia: An Emerging Militant Group in Bahrain?”. Hizballah Cavalcade, Jihadology, Accessed 18 April 2014.
  • Smith, Phillip. “Saraya al-Mukhtar: A Bahraini Militant Group with Regional Goals”. Hizballah Cavalcade, Jihadology. Accessed 6 March 2014.
  • Smith, Phillip. “Bahrain: Proliferating Proxy Networks”. Atlantic Council (2017), 26-29. https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep03726.7
  • Smyth, Phillip, Michetti, Tim and Daniels, Owen. “Bahrain: Proliferating Proxy Networks”. Atlantic Council (2017), 26-29. https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep03726.7
  • Sinkaya, Bayram. “Arap Baharı’nın İran’ın Ortadoğu Politikalarına Etkileri”. Ortadoğu Etütleri 6/ 2 (January 2015), 54-78. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/887063
  • The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy. “Biography of Mohammed Habib AL-MUQDAD”. Accessed 1 April 2021. https://birdbh.org/mohammed-habib-al-miqdad
  • The Daily Tribune. “Al Ashtar, Al-Mukhtar Brigades Added to UK Terror List”. Accessed 23 December 2017. https://www.newsofbahrain.com/bahrain/40567.html
  • The European Pressphoto Agency B.V. (EPA). “Jaysh al-Islam Military Academy”. 2022.
  • Wastnidge, Edward. “The Modalities of Iranian Soft Power: From Cultural Diplomacy to Soft War”. Political Studies Association 35/ 3-4 (2015), 364-375.
  • Weiss, Caleb. “Iranian-Backed Terror Groups in Bahrain: Part Two”. Illini Journal of International Security 2017. http://publish.illinois.edu/illinijournalofinternationalsecurity/blog/blogs-spring-2017/iranian-backed-terror-groups-in-bahrain-part-two/

İran’ın Şii Nüfuz Kuşağı Politikası: Bahreynli Şiiler Örneği

Year 2022, Volume: 25 Issue: 63, 377 - 400, 15.12.2022
https://doi.org/10.15745/da.1177733

Abstract

Pers İmparatorluğu'ndan miras kalan Pers perspektifi ile birlikte Şiilik, İran'ının jeopolitik eğitimini önemli ölçüde etkilemektedir. Siyasallaşması ile Şiilik, İran'ın ulusal kimliğinin yaratılmasında ve korunmasında en önemli faktörlerden biri, belki de en önemlisi haline gelmiştir. Çeşitli bölgelerde yaşayan Şiiler ile temas halinde bulunan İran bu teması Arap Baharı süreci sonrası yoğunlaştırmıştır. Bu makalede İran’ın Şii Nüfuz Kuşağı Politikası bağlamında Bahreyn’deki Şiiler ele alınmıştır. Makalede ilk olarak Bahreyn’in sosyolojik ve dini yapısı hakkında genel bilgi verilmiş, akabinde Bahreyn’deki Şii gruplar ve liderlerin özelliklerine değinilmiştir. Daha sonra bu grupların İran ile olan ilişkilerini düzeyleri ve faaliyetleri Şii milis gruplar, özelliklerini ve İran adına yürüttüğü çalışmalar incelenmiştir. Araştırma literatür taramasına dayalı olarak gerçekleştirilmiştir.

References

  • Abdulla, Namo. “What Is Bahrain's Saraya al-Mukhtar Militia? VOA. Accessed 19 December 2020. https://www.voanews.com/a/extremism-watch_what-bahrains-saraya-al-mukhtar-militia/6199751.html
  • Al-Masqati, Amani. “The Interior Ministry: Rida Al Ghasra, Mahmoud Yahya, and Mostafa Abedali were killed during their failed attempt escaping to Iran” Al-Wasat News. Accessed 09 February 2017. http://www.alwasatnews.com/news/1209083.html
  • Al-Wafa. “Full Text: ‘Stability and Resilience”. Accessed 10 November 2018. https://al-wafa.net/2805/النصّ-الكامل-وثيقة-الثّبات-والصمود/
  • Albayrakoğlu, Esra Pakin. “ABD-Körfez İşbirliği Konseyi İlişkilerinde İran Faktörü”. International Relations 8/ 31 (2011), 95 – 116. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/articlefile/540160
  • Arı, Tayyar. “20. Yüzyılda Orta Doğu: Sömürgecilikten Bağımsızlığa”. In Orta Doğu’da Siyaset. ed. Davut Dursun and Tayyar Arı. 30-67. Eskişehir: Anadolu University, 2013.
  • Ataman, Muhittin - Demir, Neslihan. “Suudi Arabistan 2011”. Ortadoğu Yıllığı 7 (2012). https://ormer.sakarya.edu.tr/uploads/files/oy2012_183_212.pdf
  • Ayhan, Veysel. “Bahreyn’de Arap Kışı: Bahreyn’deki Şiilerin Demokrasi Mücadelesi”. Mülkiye Dergisi 35 / 272 (2011), 119 - 136 . https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/mulkiye/issue/4/47
  • Belfer, Mitchell. Small State, Dangerous Region: A Strategic Assessment of Bahrain. Frankfurt: Peter Lang Publishing, 2014.
  • Belfer, Mitchell - Alshaikh, Khalid. Iran’s Clandestine War on the Kingdom of Bahrain: Saraya al Ashtar and the Military Wing of Hezbollah Bahrain. King Faisal Center Report, 2019.
  • Bozorgmehr, Najmeh - Blitz, James. “Khamenei Dismisses Pressure on Iran”. Financial Times. Accessed 3 February 2012. https://www.ft.com/content/31c0fc74-4e5c-11e1-8670-00144feabdc0
  • Donaghy, Rori. “Bahrain Expels Prominent Religious Clerics”. Middle East Eye. Accessed 12 February 2015. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/bahrain-expels-prominent-religious-cleric,
  • Downs, Kevin. “A Theoretical Analysis of the Saudi Iranian Rivalry in Bahrain”. Journal of Politics and International Studies 8 (Winter 2012/ 13), 203-237 https://docplayer.net/62243669-A-theoretical-analysis-of-the-saudi-iranian-rivalry-in-bahrain.html
  • Gause IIIi F.Gregory. Saudi Arabia in the New Middle East. Council on Foreign Relations Special Report 63, (2011).
  • Gordon, Edward. “Resolution of the Bahrain Dispute”. The American Journal of International Law 65/ 3 (July 1971), 560–568. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2198978
  • Gulf States Newsletter. “Iranian Threat Focuses Minds of GCC leaders”. Issue 888, Accessed 29 October 2010. https://www.gsn-online.com/news-centre/article/iranian-threat-focuses-minds-gcc-leaders
  • Justh, Krisztina. “Protest, Oppression and the Politics of Citizenship in Bahrain and Kuwait”. Central European University Nationalism Studies Program, Budapest: Hungary. 2013, 12-14.
  • Kam, Ephraim. “Iran’s Shiite Foreign Legion”. (The Institute for National Security Studies. 2017, 24. https://www.inss.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/irans-shiite-foreign-legion.pdf
  • Kéchichian, Joseph Albert. “Can Conservative Arab Gulf Monarchies Endure a Fourth War in the Persian Gulf?. Middle East Journal 61/ 2 (Spring 2007), 283-306. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4330389
  • Knights, Michael - Levitt, Mathew. “The Evolution of Shia Insurgency in Bahrain ''. Combating Terrorism Center Sentinel (January 2018), 18-25. https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/evolution-shia-insurgency-bahrain
  • Macdonald, Alex. “Rise of Jaish al-Islam Marks a Turn in Syria Conflict”. Middle East Eye. Accessed 7 May 2015. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/rise-jaish-al-islam-marksturn-syria-conflict
  • Maynard, Brian. “The Role of the Ulama in Shııte Social Movements: Bahrain, Lebanon, and Iraq”. (Monterey: California, Naval Postgraduate School, 2005), 56-58.
  • Orton, Kyle. “Iran Escalates its Subversive Activities in Bahrain”. Henry Jackson Society. Accessed 19 November 2017. https://kyleorton.co.uk/2017/11/19/iran-escalates-its-subversive-activities-in-bahrain/
  • Peterson, J.E. “Bahrain: Reform - Promise and Reality, in Political Liberalization in the Persian Gulf”. (London: Hurst & Company, 2009), 168.
  • Policy Media Center. “116 Suspects Arrested in Counter-terror Operations”. Accessed 11 August 2022. https://www.policemc.gov.bh/en/news/ministry/79965
  • Pollack, Kenneth. “The Persian Puzzle: The Conflict Between Iran and America “. New York: Random House, 2004.
  • Shehabı, Ala’a vd., (ed) Bahrain’s Uprising. London: Zed Books, 2011.
  • Ramadan, Tarıq. The Arab Awakening: Islam and the New Middle East. London: Penguin, 2012.)
  • Smith Crispin - Malik Hamdi. “Profile: Unite 10.000,’ Militia Spotlight Profiles”. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Accessed 25 April 2021. https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/profile-unit-10000
  • Smith, Phillip. “Saraya al-Karar: Bahrain’s Sporadic Bombers”. Jihadology. Accessed 22 August 2022. http://jihadology.net/2014/12/01/hizballah-cavalcade-saraya-al-karar-bahrains-sporadic-bombers/
  • Smith, Phillip. “Asa’ib al-Muqawama al-Bahrainia: An Emerging Militant Group in Bahrain?”. Hizballah Cavalcade, Jihadology, Accessed 18 April 2014.
  • Smith, Phillip. “Saraya al-Mukhtar: A Bahraini Militant Group with Regional Goals”. Hizballah Cavalcade, Jihadology. Accessed 6 March 2014.
  • Smith, Phillip. “Bahrain: Proliferating Proxy Networks”. Atlantic Council (2017), 26-29. https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep03726.7
  • Smyth, Phillip, Michetti, Tim and Daniels, Owen. “Bahrain: Proliferating Proxy Networks”. Atlantic Council (2017), 26-29. https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep03726.7
  • Sinkaya, Bayram. “Arap Baharı’nın İran’ın Ortadoğu Politikalarına Etkileri”. Ortadoğu Etütleri 6/ 2 (January 2015), 54-78. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/887063
  • The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy. “Biography of Mohammed Habib AL-MUQDAD”. Accessed 1 April 2021. https://birdbh.org/mohammed-habib-al-miqdad
  • The Daily Tribune. “Al Ashtar, Al-Mukhtar Brigades Added to UK Terror List”. Accessed 23 December 2017. https://www.newsofbahrain.com/bahrain/40567.html
  • The European Pressphoto Agency B.V. (EPA). “Jaysh al-Islam Military Academy”. 2022.
  • Wastnidge, Edward. “The Modalities of Iranian Soft Power: From Cultural Diplomacy to Soft War”. Political Studies Association 35/ 3-4 (2015), 364-375.
  • Weiss, Caleb. “Iranian-Backed Terror Groups in Bahrain: Part Two”. Illini Journal of International Security 2017. http://publish.illinois.edu/illinijournalofinternationalsecurity/blog/blogs-spring-2017/iranian-backed-terror-groups-in-bahrain-part-two/
There are 39 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Orhan Karaoğlu 0000-0003-1389-5512

Publication Date December 15, 2022
Published in Issue Year 2022 Volume: 25 Issue: 63

Cite

ISNAD Karaoğlu, Orhan. ““Iran’s Shiite Influence Belt Policy: The Example of Bahraini Shiites”. Dini Araştırmalar 25/63 (December 2022), 377-400. https://doi.org/10.15745/da.1177733.