Mansoor al-Jamri (also Mansour; Arabic: منصور الجمري; born 17 December 1961) is a Bahraini columnist, author, human rights activist and former opposition leader. He is the editor-in-chief of Al-Wasat, an Arabic language independent daily newspaper. He is also the second son of the Shia spiritual leader Sheikh Abdul-Amir al-Jamri, who died in 2006.

A few months after he was born in the village of Bani Jamra, al-Jamri moved with his family to Iraq where 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-based opposition group. Following a series of reforms of which he was initially skeptical of, al-Jamri returned to Bahrain in December 2001. He co-founded Al-Wasat in 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 the Bahraini uprising started in February 2011, Al-Wasat and al-Jamri covered both sides of the conflict. Al-Jamri was involved in reconciliation talks until 15 March when Saudi troops entered Bahrain. That day, Al-Wasat printing facility was destroyed. Its employees which already faced harassment by groups of youths began remote 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-Wasat board 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]

Mansoor al-Jamri was born in Bahrain on 17 December 1961.^[6] Al-Jamri's father Sheikh Abdul Amir is a Shia cleric who became the leader of the opposition and the spiritual father of the Shia during the 1990s uprising in Bahrain.^[7][8] His mother, Zahra' is the grand daughter of the renovator Shia khatib Mulla Atiya 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 to Najaf, Iraq where his father continued his religious studies.^[6] At the time, al-Jamri's family was composed of his parents and his 2-year-old brother Mohammed 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 of Isa 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 with kites outside.^[12] At the age of 9, he began practicing Islamic prayers and fasting in Ramadan.^[13]

In his book Non-scattered memories of Najaf, al-Jamri describes the dire situation in Iraq following the rise of Ba'ath party 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 of Ramadan.^[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 village Bani Jamra much 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 the University 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 the BBC."^[23]

Al-Jamri is married to Reem Khalifa, a columnist and reporter working for Al-Wasat and the Associated Press. Unlike Mansoor, she follows the Sunni branch of Islam.^[24][25][26] She was described by the New York Times as a "woman of Western tastes".^[27] Khalifa comes from a leftist family.^[28]

In 1999, then-Emir (now King) Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa began 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's reform plan,^[32] but al-Jamri received a personal invitation by the king and was given a large margin of freedom 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-Wasat in Arabic and Gulf Observer in 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 by Committee to Protect Journalists as independent and non-sectarian, however this did not spare it from occasional harassment and political pressure.^[3] Al-Wasat is 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 to Margaret Warner of PBS NewsHour, Al-Wasat is the "most popular and profitable newspaper" in Bahrain and al-Jamri's column is a "voice for non-sectarian moderation".^[24]

Al-Jamri has written several books, mostly in Arabic. These include Memories of Childhood (2007), Interventions on Thought and Politics (2008),Concepts in Management and Leadership (2016), and Principled Leadership in Management and Development (2018) .^[22] The Memories of Childhood is 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] The Interventions on Thought and Politics deals with political and ideological concepts in Europe and the Muslim world, and how Muslim countries can benefit from them in order to consolidate the political pluralism within the Islamic theme.^[51] Al-Jamri also writes a daily column in Al-Wasat and regular articles on politics and human rights for other publications such as Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.^[1][3]