Al Khawalid information

Al Khawalid الخوالد
Parent house	Al Khalifa
Country	Bahrain
Founder	Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa

Al Khawalid (Arabic: الخوالد the Khawālid; literally "the Khālids"), also spelled Al Khawaled, is a branch of the House of Khalifa, the ruling family of Bahrain. Al Khawalid is most often used to refer collectively to descendants of Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa, which they are named after. The term also refers to brothers Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, the Royal Court Minister and Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa the Commander in Chief of the Bahrain Defence Force. For the purpose of this article, immediate descendants of Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa will be referred to as "the Khalids", the aforementioned two brothers will be referred to as "the Khawalid brothers" and the family branch collectively as "Al Khawalid".^{[Note 1]}

The history of Al Khawalid dates to the 1920s, when the Khalids opposed the British-led administrative reforms and launched a military crackdown on the Shia who supported the reforms. The perpetrators were later put before a court that sentenced them to exile. They gradually returned to Bahrain, where they were kept outside government despite developing personal relations with those in power. They regained some influence since the late 1960s, but remained outside the inner decision-making circle. During this period, senior members of the Khalids were critical of the ruling family, opposed political reforms and held a grudge against the British.

The Khawalid brothers rose to power during the reign of King Hamad (1999–present), who they had a longstanding personal relationship with and whose mother belonged to their branch. They took up leading positions and controlled important institutions, becoming increasingly influential, with their power reportedly surpassing that of the Prime Minister (PM). The House of Khalifa is reported to have been split into a "moderate" faction led by the Crown Prince (CP) and a "hardline" faction led by the Khawalid brothers who share the same "anti-reform" agenda with the PM. In 2006, a report revealed an alleged secret plan by the Khawalid brothers which aimed to marginalize the Shia majority and identified one of their cousins as leader of the alleged conspiracy.

During the Bahraini uprising of 2011, the Khawalid brothers objected to compromise with the opposition and instead preferred crackdown. After a failed round of negotiations led by the CP, the Khawalid brothers led the crackdown, described as the widest in Bahrain's modern history. The Commander in Chief of the army, Khalifa bin Ahmed, was given wide authority with the announcement of martial law; he led a main crackdown operation, presided over military courts and made several interviews with regional and local media. Another Al Khawalid involved in the crackdown was the then-director of the National Security Agency, which was found to be responsible for arbitrary arrests and systematic torture. The crackdown empowered the Khawalid brothers faction further and marginalized the CP, who found himself and allies stripped from their powers.

The Khawalid brothers share an anti-West conservative ideology. They believe that the West is conspiring with Iran against Bahrain and other Gulf Cooperation Council countries and often accuse the United States of secretly supporting the Bahraini opposition. They are allied with Saudi Arabia and Sunni Islamist groups, and hold an anti-Shia ideology, viewing them as a fifth column to Iran. Based on their beliefs, the Khawalid brothers have pushed a security approach to deal with the Shia instead of political reforms, and have allegedly used sectarianism as a political tool.
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