Event of the Week (Friday – 27 February 2026): The Child Shaima Manages “Volunteer Initiatives”… Thus Bahrain Is Turned into a Fiefdom in the Hands of the Tyrant’s Sons and Grandsons
On 23 February 2026, Shaima bint Nasser Al Khalifa (born 2010) chaired the first meeting of the volunteer initiatives at what is called the “Royal Humanitarian Foundation”!
Her appointment came by order of her father and with the support of her grandfather, the tyrant Hamad.
This appointment aroused citizens’ disapproval; she is a young girl appointed to a leadership position that requires long experience and administrative qualifications.
However, Shaima’s appointment was not surprising in light of the transformation of Bahrain into an overt Khalifa fiefdom. Her father, Nasser (born 1987), holds senior positions in the military sector — “National Security Advisor, Secretary-General of the Supreme Defense Council, Commander of the Royal Guard”; in the economic sector — “Chairman of the Board of Bapco Energies”; in the sports sector — “Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports”; and in the humanitarian sector — “Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Humanitarian Foundation.”
Nasser enjoys all of this by virtue of lineage and tribal ties. His mother (the tyrant’s second wife) is “Shaima bint Hassan Al Khuraish Al Ajmi” (of Kuwaiti origin), and his wife is the daughter of the ruler of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
To avoid the effects of rivalry among Gulf rulers, Al Khalifa rely on a strategy of intermarriage among tribes, and this is reinforced through polygamy. The tyrant Hamad is married to four women from different tribes — “the first from Al Khalifa, the third from the House of Al Murri, and the fourth from the Al Nuaimi tribe.” This tradition extends to sons and grandsons — “for example, the tyrant’s grandson, Mohammed bin Salman bin Hamad, is currently married to three women from different tribes.”
“Shaima” … a New Khalifa Miracle!
It is likely that bringing Nasser’s child to the forefront is intended to pave the way for her to assume future roles in the manner by which Nasser himself came to prominence, that is, the creation of a new “Khalifa miracle,” this time on the female level.
The story begins with presenting Shaima to public opinion under the title of “Her Highness Sheikha,” promoting her creative abilities as exceeding her age, and then attributing to her constructed “miracles” across all fields.
As is the case with Nasser, the “Shaima miracle” project is not far from two matters: first, the need to satisfy the tribal lineage connection with the ruler of Dubai and to attract financial assistance from him; and second, it is connected to a plan for engineering the Khalifa fiefdom in Bahrain, with the aim of securing the stability of rule when Salman ascends the throne.
This feudal pattern provides Al Khalifa with the broad tribal support they require, but it also calls for an early distribution of shares of positions and wealth, which makes the country a bitter field for experiments in corruption, oppression, and authoritarianism.
