Jump to content

Mansoor al-Jamri

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromMansoor Al-Jamri)

Mansoor al-Jamri
al-Jamri in July 2011
Born(1961-12-17)17 December 1961(age 62)
Bahrain
Education
Occupation(s)Columnist,editor,author, publisher and human rights activists.[1]
Years active
OrganizationAl-Wasat
SpouseReem Khalifa
Parents
Awards
Website

Mansoor al-Jamri(also Mansour;Arabic:منصور الجمري;born 17 December 1961) is aBahrainicolumnist, author, human rights activist and former opposition leader. He is the editor-in-chief ofAl-Wasat,an Arabic language independent daily newspaper. He is also the second son of theShiaspiritual leader SheikhAbdul-Amir al-Jamri,who died in 2006.

A few months after he was born in the village ofBani Jamra,al-Jamri moved with his family toIraqwhere his father continued his religious studies. To his delight, al-Jamri returned to Bahrain in 1973 and five years later graduated from high school. In 1979 he moved to the United Kingdom (UK) to continue his higher education. Between 1987 and 2001, al-Jamri lived in self-imposed exile in UK where he became the spokesman of a UK-basedopposition group.Following aseries of reformsof which he was initially skeptical of, al-Jamri returned to Bahrain in December 2001. He co-foundedAl-Wasatin September 2002 and became its editor-in-chief since then. The newspaper, said to be the only one offering independent and non-sectarian coverage in Bahrain was a success, becoming the country's most popular and profitable. Al-Jamri writes daily columns described to be moderate and non-sectarian.

When theBahraini uprisingstarted in February 2011,Al-Wasatand al-Jamri covered both sides of the conflict. Al-Jamri was involved in reconciliation talks until 15 March whenSauditroops entered Bahrain. That day,Al-Wasatprinting facility was destroyed. Its employees which already faced harassment by groups of youths beganremote work.The next month, the newspaper was charged by government to publishing fabricated news about the uprising and was suspended. Al-Jamri acknowledged his mistake, but said he was set up and downplayed the impact of the false news. He resigned from his position and the newspaper was allowed to publish the next day. He was subsequently charged and convicted of publishing false news. In August,Al-Wasatboard of directors reinstated him back to his position. In June 2017, the Information Affairs Ministry indefinitely suspended the newspaper, forcing the paper's closure. Amnesty International termed the government's actions an "all-out campaign to end independent reporting".[5]

Early life and education

[edit]

Mansoor al-Jamri was born inBahrainon 17 December 1961.[6]Al-Jamri's father SheikhAbdul Amiris a Shia cleric who became the leader of the opposition and the spiritual father of the Shia during the1990s uprising in Bahrain.[7][8]His mother, Zahra' is the grand daughter of the renovator ShiakhatibMullaAtiya al-Jamri.[9][10]They were married in Bahrain in 1957.[9]Abdul Amir was 20 and Zahra', his cousin's grand daughter was 16.[9]

Few months after his birth, al-Jamri family traveled toNajaf,Iraqwhere his father continued his religious studies.[6]At the time, al-Jamri's family was composed of his parents and his 2-year-old brotherMohammed Jameel.[6]He studied for five years at the Talibiya primary school which was also attended by some Bahrainis such as Sami, the elder son ofIsa Qassim.[11]Having no TV at home, al-Jamri and his siblings spent most of their time listening to stories told by their mother or playing withkitesoutside.[12]At the age of 9, he began practicingIslamic prayersandfasting in Ramadan.[13]

In his bookNon-scattered memories of Najaf,al-Jamri describes the dire situation in Iraq following the rise ofBa'athparty in 1968.[14]He writes that the "biggest tragedy" he witnessed was the deportation of Iraqis of Iranian origins, some of whom were his neighbors.[15]Al-Jamri and his school colleagues were often forced to take part in pro and anti-Ba'athist protests.[16]

Al-Jamri's first memories in Bahrain were during a visit with father during the month ofRamadan.[17]Although he was mocked by other kids due to his partly Iraqi accent, al-Jamri said he was very happy with the visit as he found his villageBani Jamramuch more "open" than Najaf.[18]In 1973, al-Jamri returned to Bahrain with his family, spending 11 years of his life in Iraq.[19]He said his father's decision to return to Bahrain was the "best news I have ever received" and that to him Bahrain represented "freedom and eternal joy".[20]

In 1978, al-Jamri graduated from high school, technical sector.[13]In 1979, he traveled to the United Kingdom to continue his higher education after receiving a scholarship from Ministry of Education.[13][21]He studied mechanical engineering at theUniversity of the West of Scotland(Paisley University) of which he holds the doctorate degree.[3][22]Trouble followed al-Jamri during his visits to Bahrain as he was questioned by security forces in 1980, his passport withdrawn for a year in 1982 and in 1987 he was not able to find a job.[13]In 1987, al-Jamri immigrated to Britain which he held its citizenship.[21]He lived in self-imposed exile for 14 years during which he continued his studies and became the spokesman of the London-based opposition group. He was also a "frequent guest on international news outlets such as theBBC."[23]

Al-Jamri is married toReem Khalifa,a columnist and reporter working forAl-Wasatand theAssociated Press.Unlike Mansoor, she follows theSunnibranch ofIslam.[24][25][26]She was described by theNew York Timesas a "woman of Western tastes".[27]Khalifa comes from aleftistfamily.[28]

Founding ofAl-Wasat

[edit]

In 1999, then-Emir (now King)Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifabegan a reform process and in 2001 exiles were told they could come back.[29]Rejecting an offer to become a cabinet minister[27][30]and leaving his leading position in the opposition,[31]al-Jamri returned from the United Kingdom in December 2001, eight months after his father had obtained a consent from the Emir to establish two newspapers.[21]Initially, he was sceptical about the king'sreform plan,[32]but al-Jamri received a personal invitation by the king and was given a large margin offreedom of expression.[24][27]Al-Jamri, backed by 39 other private investors (US$5.3 million capital) had initially planned to establish two independent newspapers,Al-Wasatin Arabic andGulf Observerin English.[21]

Al-Wasat(literally, "The Center"[33]) was founded in September 2002 and its co-founder al-Jamri became its editor-in-chief.[34]By 2011 it had become the country's most popular newspaper with a daily circulation of 15,000[34]and readership of 45,000[23]to 60,000.[35]It employed 200 individuals, a quarter of them worked as reporters or editors.[34]Its coverage was described byCommittee to Protect Journalistsas independent and non-sectarian, however this did not spare it from occasional harassment and political pressure.[3]Al-Wasatis the only independent and non-sectarian newspaper in the county[36][37]and is also "widely credited with being the first Bahraini newspaper to voice opposition views".[4]Although it also covers the government point of view,[24]the newspaper is sometimes classified as siding with opposition.[38]According toMargaret WarnerofPBS NewsHour,Al-Wasatis the "most popular and profitable newspaper" in Bahrain and al-Jamri's column is a "voice for non-sectarian moderation".[24]

Bahraini uprising

[edit]

Background

[edit]
Protests atPearl Roundaboutin February 2011
Further information:Bahraini uprising (2011–present)

Beginning in February 2011, Bahrain saw sustained pro-democracy protests, centered atPearl Roundaboutin the capital ofManama,as part of the widerArab Spring.Authorities responded with a night raid on 17 February (later referred to by protesters asBloody Thursday), which left four protesters dead and more than 300 injured.[39]In March, martial law was declared and Saudi troops were called in. Despite the hard crackdown and official ban, the protests continued.[40]

Role of al-Jamri andAl-Wasat

[edit]

During the uprising,Al Wasatwas a voice for "moderation and prudence" that urged compromise from both sides[3][27]and its popularity reportedly increased by 30 percent.[35]In his columns, al-Jamri criticized the government for its repression and protesters for blocking a main highway.[27]Al-Jamri said he was involved in meditation efforts between the two sides of the conflict until 15 March after Saudi troops had entered Bahrain.[27]He added that he refused to be hosted onAl-ManarandAl-Alam News Network,because "their rhetoric is not in accordance withAl-Wasat's ".[31]This however, did not spareAl-Wasatfrom the effects of the unrest as its printing facility was surrounded by youths who harassed employees since 12 March.[33]

Three days later, the facility was attacked at 1am by a club-wielding-gang that "attack[ed] the touch screens and computers of the printing machine," said the head ofAl-Wasatprinting press.[33][41]That dayAl-Wasatwas printed by another newspaper.[33]Employees had to work from home as "hundreds of vigilantes encircled the area", they (employees) were harassed in checkpoints and authorities reportedly failed to protect them even after getting contacted.[24][27][30]Al-Jamri reported receiving death threats via phone and getting intimidated by government informers.[3]"One of our photographers had camera smashed into his head and needed hospitalization, several distributors were beaten, and one columnist disappeared for a month. But under all of these circumstances, we continued," al-Jamri said.[30]

Suspension ofAl-Wasatand resignation of al-Jamri

[edit]

On 2 April, following a three-hour[23]episode on Bahrain TV alleging it had published false and fabricated news and images in its 26 and 29 March editions,Al-Wasatwas forced to close down and had its website blocked by theInformation Affairs Authority(IAA).[36][42]The state-runBahrain News Agencyaccused it of "unethical" media coverage of the events of the uprising[34]and the IAA released a 30-page report "detailingAl Wasat's alleged transgressions ".[36]The news and images turned out to be either from other countries or from previous events.[27]The newspaper did not publish an edition on 3 April.[41]Al-Jamri acknowledged that the reports identified in Bahrain TV show were false, but said he and his staff did not "knowingly [publish] false information".[36]

The ban was lifted a day later after al-Jamri and two other top editors had resigned.[41]Al-Jamri said his resignation was "needed to safeguard the newspaper and the livelihood of its staff."[43]On 4 April,Al-Wasatresumed publishing under the supervision of two Iraqi editors.[27]The two temporary editors were questioned in theNational Security Agencyand were deported along with their families after they had refused to confess against al-Jamri.[27][36]Al-Jamri and the two editors who resigned were subsequently questioned[36]and charged with "publishing fabricated news and made up stories... that may harm public safety and national interests."[44]

Unlike other cases which were brought before amilitary court,their first trial session on 18 May was before the (civilian) High Criminal Court and was postponed to June.[24][45]Al-Jamri said before a trial session on 19 June that the fabricated news articles were sent toAl-Wasatfrom a SaudiIPaddress and that they were not verified properly due to the previous attacks onAl-Wasat.[44]"It was a setup. We were framed into it, and later on attacked, using – using it as a launching pad for closing down the newspaper," al-Jamri said in a press interview.[24]"If a bank CEO wanted to steal, he wouldn't steal just 20 dollars, maybe he'd steal 2 million. The fabricated news were of the price of 20 dollars," he added.[31]

Human Rights Watch(HRW) said the charges were politically motivated and asked authorities to drop them, allow al-Jamri back to his position and "cease their campaign to silence independent journalism".[36]The advocacy group added that following al-Jamri's resignation,Al-Wasat's coverage of human rights violations decreased significantly.[36]"Bahrain's rulers are showing they have no shame by muzzling the one media outlet that was widely regarded as the country's only independent news source," Joe Stork of HRW said.[36]The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the actions of Bahraini government and described them as "strong-arm tactics".[27][43]The non-government organization added that its research supported claims by al-Jamri that the government was behind planting the false news.[23]Mohammed al-MaskatiofBahrain Youth Society for Human Rightsaccused theMinistry of Interiorof planting the fake stories.[27]"They wanted him to quit, and the paper has totally changed," he added.[27]

On 4 August, al-Jamri was reinstated back to his position by the board of directors.[35]On 11 October, al-Jamri and his colleagues were found guilty by the court and fined US$2,650 each.[46]Subsequently, al-Jamri received two international awards; theCPJ International Press Freedom Awardin 2011[3]and the Next Century Foundation'sPeace Through Media Awardin 2012.[4]In September 2011,Al-Wasatwon the UNICEF regional award for electronic media[47]and in May 2012, it was ranked top in theMedia Credibility Indexahead ofAl Jazeera,BBC,Agence France-Presseand more than a dozen other media outlets.[48]

Publications

[edit]

Al-Jamri has written several books, mostly in Arabic. These includeMemories of Childhood(2007),Interventions on Thought and Politics(2008),Concepts in Management and Leadership(2016), andPrincipled Leadership in Management and Development(2018).[22]TheMemories of Childhoodis a narrative of al-Jamri's childhood in Iraq, the experiences he had and the events he witnessed.[49]He was motivated to write it by people's reactions following the death of his father and dedicated the book to his memory.[50]TheInterventions on Thought and Politicsdeals with political and ideological concepts in Europe and theMuslim world,and how Muslim countries can benefit from them in order to consolidate thepolitical pluralismwithin the Islamic theme.[51]Al-Jamri also writes a daily column inAl-Wasatand regular articles on politics and human rights for other publications such asCarnegie Endowment for International Peace.[1][3]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abc"Mansoor al-Jamri".Right to Non-violence.Retrieved13 June2013.
  2. ^Mansoor al-Jamri (8 August 2005).تحرك الثمانينات أسس لتحرك التسعينات.Al-Wasat(in Arabic).Retrieved13 June2013.
  3. ^abcdefg"Mansoor al-Jamri, Bahrain".Committee to Protect Journalists.2011.Retrieved11 June2013.
  4. ^abc"2012 Awards".International Media Awards.2012. Archived fromthe originalon 29 March 2016.Retrieved5 May2012.
  5. ^"Bahrain authorities must rescind decision to close only independent newspaper al-Wasat and cease all-out campaign to end independent reporting"(PDF).Amnesty International.Retrieved21 December2017.
  6. ^abcMansoor al-Jamri 2007,p. 7.
  7. ^"Bahrain pro-democracy cleric dies".BBC.18 December 2006.Retrieved4 June2013.
  8. ^Phil Davison (20 December 2006)."Sheikh Abdul Amir al-Jamri".The Guardian.Retrieved5 June2013.
  9. ^abcAbdul Amir al-Jamri(10 February 2001).قصة حياتي[The story of my life] (in Arabic). aljamri.org. p. 5. Archived fromthe originalon 8 September 2019.Retrieved6 June2013.
  10. ^الشيخ عبدالامير الجمري.Al-Wasat(in Arabic). 3 July 2003.Retrieved5 June2013.
  11. ^Mansoor al-Jamri 2007,p. 11.
  12. ^Mansoor al-Jamri 2007,pp. 28–31, 35–6.
  13. ^abcdمقابلة منتديات البحرين مع الدكتور منصور الجمري.Al-Wasat(in Arabic). 20 August 2001.Retrieved15 June2013.
  14. ^Mansoor al-Jamri 2007,pp. 7–16.
  15. ^Mansoor al-Jamri 2007,pp. 20–3.
  16. ^Mansoor al-Jamri 2007,pp. 12–4.
  17. ^Mansoor al-Jamri 2007,p. 41.
  18. ^Mansoor al-Jamri 2007,pp. 41–3.
  19. ^Mansoor al-Jamri 2007,p. 59.
  20. ^Mansoor al-Jamri 2007,p. 58.
  21. ^abcd"Bahrain approves first independent dailies".Associated Press.8 January 2002. Archived fromthe originalon 15 April 2016.Retrieved11 June2013– viaHighBeam Research.
  22. ^abWilliam Granger (9 January 2012)."Mansoor al-Jamri".World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers.Archived fromthe originalon 13 July 2018.Retrieved13 June2013.
  23. ^abcdKristin Jones (2012)."The Calculus of Risk: Awardees Work Despite Perils".Committee to Protect Journalists.Retrieved14 June2013.
  24. ^abcdefgMargaret Warner(20 May 2011)."Embattled Editor: In Bahraini Government Crackdowns, 'Nobody's Untouchable'".PBS NewsHour.PBS.Archived fromthe originalon 21 January 2014.Retrieved12 June2013.
  25. ^"Mansoor al-Jamri Award Acceptance Speech".Committee to Protect Journalists. 22 November 2011.Retrieved12 June2013.
  26. ^Brian Dooley(3 July 2012)."Bahrain Escalates Attacks on Civil Society".Human Rights First.Retrieved12 June2013.
  27. ^abcdefghijklmClifford Krauss (8 April 2011)."Editor Silenced, With the Help of Unreliable Sources".The New York Times.Retrieved13 June2013.
  28. ^Jane Kinninmont (10 May 2012).Mansoor Al Jamri receives Peace Through Media Award 2012.Next Century Foundation. Event occurs at 5:50.Archivedfrom the original on 13 December 2021.
  29. ^Mansoor al-Jamri (2010)."Shia and the State in Bahrain"(PDF).Alternative Politics(1): 16. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 27 September 2013.Retrieved5 June2013.
  30. ^abcJill Greenfield (1 December 2011)."Fighting for human rights and press freedom in Bahrain: Possibilities and Limitations".Harvard Law School.Retrieved13 June2013.
  31. ^abcMuqbil al-'Se'ari (26 April 2013).منعي من دخول دبي قرار لم أفهمه.. لكنني أحترمته.Aleqtsadia(in Arabic). Archived fromthe originalon 1 June 2013.Retrieved14 June2013.
  32. ^مشروع الميثاق في البحرين(in Arabic).Al Jazeera.13 February 2001.Retrieved15 June2013.
  33. ^abcd"Gangs with clubs attack Bahrain newspaper".ABC News.Reuters.15 March 2011.Retrieved14 June2013.
  34. ^abcd"Editors quit to save Bahraini newspaper from ban".The Guardian.Associated Press. 3 April 2011.Retrieved11 June2013.
  35. ^abcAlessandra Bajec (24 November 2011)."I am proud to contribute to the right side of history".European Journalism Centre(via EMAJ Magazine).Retrieved14 June2013.
  36. ^abcdefghi"Bahrain: Drop Charges Against Editor of Independent Daily".Human Rights Watch.11 April 2011.Retrieved12 June2013.
  37. ^Dan Rather(29 March 2012)."A Dire Strait".Huffington Post.Retrieved15 June2013.
  38. ^"Bahrain editors to face trial over protests".USA Today.Associated Press. 11 April 2011.Retrieved12 June2013.
  39. ^"Bahrain protests: Police break up Pearl Square crowd".BBC News.17 February 2011.Retrieved24 May2012.
  40. ^"Bahrain profile (Timeline)".BBC. 20 April 2013.Retrieved11 June2013.
  41. ^abcM. Cherif Bassiouni et al. 2011,p. 390.
  42. ^M. Cherif Bassiouni et al. 2011,pp. 389–90.
  43. ^ab"Bahrain manipulates daily; attacks in Libya, Iraq, Yemen".Committee to Protect Journalists. 4 April 2011.Retrieved12 June2013.
  44. ^abHuman Rights Watch 2011,p. 11.
  45. ^"Trial of Journalists Continues in Bahrain".Voice of America.14 June 2011.Retrieved12 June2013.
  46. ^"Bahrain Fines Newspaper Staff For False Reports".Voice of America.10 October 2011.Retrieved14 June2013.
  47. ^Next Century Foundation 2012,p. 30.
  48. ^Next Century Foundation 2012,p. 12.
  49. ^Mansoor al-Jamri 2007,pp. 4–59.
  50. ^Mansoor al-Jamri 2007,p. 3.
  51. ^Mansoor al-Jamri (2008).مداخلات في الفكر والسياسة: نحو تأصيل إسلامي للنهج التعددي[Interventions on Thought and Politics] (in Arabic). Al Wasat.

Bibliography

[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mansoor_al-Jamri&oldid=1241983142"