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'Government of Bahrain Administrative Report for the Years 1926-1937' [31v] (62/86)
The record is made up of 1 volume (43 folios). It was created in 1937. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
38
WAKF ADMINISTRATION
Nature of Much valuable property in Bahrain is wakf property, dedicated in the
Wakfs. past for public and religious purposes, such as the upkeep of mosques,
the payment of muezzins and priests, and in the case ot the Shias, towards
religious observances during the month of Muharram and the expenses of the matems, which
can be described as village halls supported by religious endowments. In addition to the charitable
wakfs, which are intended to benefit the general public, there are private wakfs which are frequently
in the nature of entails of property to the heirs of a certain person and, among the Shias, property
and money is often left in trust to pay for prayers to be said over a long period of time on behalf
of a deceased person. Another common form of religious endowment is the dedication by will
of one-third of the estate for charity or for certain specific charities, but this note only refers to
wakfs of a public nature.
Shaikh Until the year 1346 (July 1927—June 1928) all wakf property in Bahrain,
Khalaf. both Sunni and Shia, was administered by the Qadis and by anybody
who was sufficiently powerful to retain the administration of the property
in his hands. It is not an exaggeration to state that most of the proceeds of the property found
its way into the pockets of the administrators and was not distributed to the poor for whose
benefit it was intended. In 1345 (1926-27), Shaikh Khalaf, who was then the Shia Qadi, was
compelled to resign owing to agitation among the Bahama which was caused by his habit of taking
bribes. Twice before during his long tenure of office he had been compelled to retire owing to
irregular practices, but in spite of this he retained a great influence over many of the country
villages. Shaikh Khalaf had been one of the leading personalities in Bahrain for many years, and
it was partly owing to his support that the diving reforms were carried out in 1923. No Qadi
since Shaikh Khalaf has had such influence over the Shia community as a whole.
Syed Adnan's His successor was Syed Adnan, a young man who had been educated
Administration. in Iraq and who had a well-deserved reputation for piety, learning, and
honesty. In addition to this, he was more progressive in his ideas than
any of the previous Qadis. On his appointment he made an effort to register the wakf property
and to start a regular system of administration. With the support of the Government he compelled
many of the people who held wakf property to lease it through him and to submit to him an account
of revenue and expenditure. He died very suddenly about a year after his appointment, but during
the time that he was Shia Qadi he accomplished much valuable work, and his books containing
the descriptions and registrations of wakf properties were of great use to the wakf department
when it was formed.
Appointment After the death of Syed Adnan, the wakf property was administered for
of a Council. some time by Shaikh Mohomed Ali Medani, the executor of the late
Qadi, but this arrangement was distasteful to most of the Shia community
who, quite rightly, placed no confidence in Shaikh Mohomed Ali Medani, who was afterwards
convicted of misappropriating funds belonging to some minors and orphans. Two Qadis, Shaikh
Ali bin Hassan of Senabis and Shaikh Abdulla bin Mohomed Saleh of Manamah, were then
appointed. The former, when he was appointed, stipulated that he should have nothing to do with
the administration of the wakf property; the latter very soon demanded that the wakf property
should be handed over to him. He was persuaded to appoint a committee of leading Shia notables
to assist him in the administration of the property. After a short time the country people, who
form the majority of the Shia community and who have the greatest interest in the wakfs, objected
to this arrangement and made a petition on the subject to the Ruler, who had hitherto taken no
interest in the question of the Shia wakf administration. The public asked that the administration
of the property should be entirely in the hands of the people and not under the control of the
Qadi of Manamah. A council was appointed, consisting of six men from the country and four
from Manamah, and the wakf property was handed over to their charge. A local merchant was
appointed as treasurer, but no president was chosen in order to placate the feelings of Shaikh
Abdulla and Shaikh Mohomed Ali Medani, both of whom were comparatively satisfied as long
as the other was not in control.
About this item
- Content
This volume is an administration report covering the years 1926 to 1937 (though in some subjects the report goes further back than 1926) and deals mainly with the activities of the Bahrain Government. It includes text, photographic images, graphs and tables. The report was based on annual reports of the financial and government departments which are made every year. A contents page can be found on folio 3, followed by a General Review by Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, dated December 1937 (folio 4).
The contents are divided into the following sections and sub-sections:
- Finance (folio 5): Revenue;
- The State Police and Public Security (folios 5v-10v): The Levy Corps, Political Disturbances, Attempt to assassinate the Shaikh, Indian Levy Corps, Crime and Prostitution, Drugs and Liquor, The State Jail, The Present Police Force, Administration and Routine, Changing Nature of Duties, Recent Innovations, Police Band, Camel Section, Shooting, Uniforms, Police Training in India, and The Naturs;
- Customs Department and Revenue (folios 10v-13v): Organisation and Establishment, Revenue (Customs Duty, Import Yard charges, Khanchieh, Porterage, Pier Fees, Landing Company, Mainland Cargo, Optional Cargo System, Transhipment Cargo), Transit Cargo, Export Dues, Boat-Building, Customs Improvements, Steamship Lines, and Future Improvements;
- Judicial (folios 13v-19v): Institution of Courts, The Bahrain Court (Criminal Cases, Civil Cases, Diving Cases, Land Cases, Fish-Trap Cases), The Bahrain Small Court, Shera [Sharia] Court (Sunni and Shia), The Mejlis Tajara [Majlis Tijārah] and Diving Court, Small Mixed Court, Laws and Codes, Police Regulations, and Judicial Legislation (Diving Regulations, Wakils Elected representative or attorney, acting in legal matters such as contracting marriage, inheritance, or business; a high-ranking legal official; could also refer to a custodian or administrator. , Mortgages, Appeals, Statute of Limitations, Liability of Government Servants);
- Public Works (folios 19v-23v): Roads, Buildings (Suk al-Khamis [Sūq al-Khamīs] Mosque, Idari Water Channel and Mosque, Manamah School and Workshop, Barracks, Police Station, New Customs House, Shops, Palace Wall, Law Courts, Bazaar Buildings, Jufair Naval Base, and Manamah-Muharraq Road;
- Land Registration (folios 23v-24v): Survey, Reports on Land Cases, Registration of Sales and Titles, Mortgages, Government Title Deeds, Fish-Traps, and Leases and Government Forms;
- Education (folios 24v-27v): Formation of an Education Committee, Muharraq School Built, Jaffarieh [al-Ja‘farīyah] School, Opening of a Girls' School, Appointment of a School Inspector, Strike of Students and Masters, Reforms in the Schools, Disappearance of School Committees, Amalgamation of Manamah Boys' Schools, Technical Education, Bahrain Boys at Beyrout University [American University of Beirut], Education of the Ruling Family, and Future Development of Education;
- Electric Department (folios 27v-29r): Original Installation, Muharraq Extension, Share of Municipalities, Progress, State Engineer, Progress, First Profitable Year, Future Prospects, Telephone System, and Summary of Seven Years' Working;
- Agriculture (folios 29r-31v): Land Tenure, Date Cultivation, Lucerne, Cereals, Cotton, Tobacco, Fruit Trees, and Vegetables.
- Wakf [Waqf] Administration (ff. 31v-35r): Nature of Wakfs, Shaikh Khalaf, Syed Adnan's Administration, Appointment of a Council, Previous attempts to organise Wakf Department, Progress of Administration and Elections, Results, Future Development, and Sunni Wakf Administration;
- Passport Department (folio 35r);
- Municipalities (folios 35r-38r): Constitution and History (Manamah and Muharraq), Municipal Finance, Municipal Taxation, Municipal Achievement, Roads, Manamah (Conservancy, Sanitation, Water Supply, Malaria, Fire Precautions, Markets and Food Regulations, Public Health Measures, Gardens, Cemeteries), and Muharraq Municipality;
- The Pearl-Diving Industry (folios 38r-40v): General, The Diving System, The Reforms, Demonstrations by Divers, The Slump, Diving Mortgages, Divers' Debts, Transfer of Divers, The Catch, and Recent Changes;
- Social and Political Developments (folios 41r-42v): Arabs and Baharna, The Baharna, The Townsfolk, Houses, Games, Class Changes, The Ruling Family, and The Women.
Photographic images appear on eleven folios, and they are labelled as follows:
- Folio 7: 'Sooq Al Khamis Mosque' and 'A Village Dispensary';
- Folio 11: 'An Artesian Well (Showing head of water)' and 'A Natural Spring (Adari [‘Adhārī])';
- Folio 14: 'Meat Market', 'Slaughter House', and 'Metal Vegetable Market (Under Construction)';
- Folio 15: 'Modern Village in Manamah', 'A Street in Manamah', and 'Municipal Garden, Manamah';
- Folio 16: 'A Small Pearling Dhow A term adopted by British officials to refer to local sailing vessels in the western Indian Ocean. ';
- Folio 21: 'New Customs House and Round-about', 'Government Shops', and 'Women's Dispensary';
- Folio 22: 'The Palace Manamah', 'Manamah Muharraq Sea Road', and 'The Road (From the Sea)';
- Folio 25: 'Manamah Boys' School', 'School Workshops', and 'A Village School';
- Folio 30: 'A road in Manamah' and 'Street in Muharraq';
- Folio 32: 'A Policeman' and 'Police on Parade';
- Folio 33: 'Buildings Constructed by Bahrain Government at Naval Base, Jufair [al-Jufayr]', 'Clerk in Charge's House', 'Canteen', and 'Officer's Building'.
Folio 17 is a graph entitled 'A decade of Customs Progress'. A note on the title page reads 'Property of H.B.M. Embassy Bahrain' (folio 2r) and the back cover includes a label that reads: 'Printed at the Dolphin Press, Brighton, England' (folio 43v).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (43 folios)
- Arrangement
This file contains a page of contents (folio 3) which references pages of the report.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: Folios 1-43.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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- Reference
- IOR/R/15/1/750/1
- Title
- 'Government of Bahrain Administrative Report for the Years 1926-1937'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:42v, back-i, back
- Author
- Belgrave, Sir Charles Dalrymple
- Usage terms
- The copyright status is unknown. Please contact [email protected] with any information you have regarding this item.