The Al Khalifa family is the ruling royal family of Bahrain. The Al Khalifa are Sunni Islam. They belong to the Anizah tribe that came from Najd to Kuwait in the early 18th century. They are also from the Utub tribe. The current head of the family is Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. He became the Emir of Bahrain in 1999 and made himself King of Bahrain in 2002.