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Further Reading

Bahrain

Bahrain is one of the most densely populated countries in the world; about 89% of the population lives in the two principal cities of Manama and Al Muharraq. Approximately 66% of the indigenous population is originally from the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Bahrain currently has a sizeable foreign labor force (about 49% of the total population). The government's policies on naturalization remain controversial. In June 2002, the King issued a decree allowing citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to take up dual Bahraini nationality. Opposition political groups charge that the government is granting citizenship to foreign nationals who have served in the Bahraini armed forces and security services to alter the demographic balance of the country, which is primarily Shi'a. According to passport officials, about 40,000 individuals have been naturalized over the past 50 years (about 10% of the total population).

The indigenous population is 98% Muslim. Although some two-thirds of the indigenous population is Shi'a Muslim, the ruling family and the majority of government, military, and corporate leaders are Sunni Muslims. The small indigenous Christian and Jewish communities make up the remaining 2% of the population. Roughly half of foreign resident community are non-Muslim, and include Christians, Hindus, Baha'is, Buddhists and Sikhs.

Until relatively recently, the history of Bahrain was one of colonial domination. Annexed in the 4th century CE by the Persian Sassanid Empire and conquered in the 8th century by the Abbassids, who began a process of Islamization, Bahrain became in the early sixteenth century a major trading centre under the Portuguese, who were in turn driven out by the Persians in 1602. The period 1783 to 1820 saw a brief interlude of independence, after the al-Khalifa family evicted their colonial masters. In 1820, as a result of pressure from Britain, a treaty was signed between the two countries. This was followed by a second in 1861, which institutionalized Bahrain's status as a British protectorate.

Oil was discovered in 1931, after which followed a period of national assertion. Bahrain later joined the neighbouring Trucial States and Qatar in the Federation of Arab Emirates. Bahrain has invested its oil revenues in developing an advanced educational system. The first public schools for girls and boys were opened in the 1920s. The government continues to pay for all schooling costs. Although school attendance is not compulsory, primary and secondary attendance rates are high, and literacy rates are currently among the highest in the region. Higher education is available for secondary school graduates at the Bahrain University, Arabian Gulf University and specialized institutes including the College of Health Sciences--operating under the direction of the Ministry of Health--which trains physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and paramedics. The government has identified providing educational services to the Gulf Cooperation Council as a potential economic growth area, and is actively working to establish Bahrain as a regional center for higher education.

When in 1971 Bahrain was granted independence, its rulers chose not to join the United Arab Emirates. Although a constitution was adopted in 1973, the newly elected National Assembly was dissolved by the al-Khalifas in 1975, accused by them of obstructing government.

The 1979 Iranian revolution was a catalyst for mobilization of the repressed Shi'a majority against the Sunni ruling class, since when the political climate has been one of unrest. In 1986 a causeway between the island and the Saudi mainland was completed, increasing both the already strong influence of Saudi Arabia on Bahraini policy and the influx of Saudi tourists, who take advantage of Bahrain's less restrictive social environment. Along its their Saudi neighbours, Bahrain participated in the US-led coalition against Saddam after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

As in Saudi Arabia, the period following the war saw a rise in political and religious opposition, prompting the government to appoint a Consultative Council in place of the dissolved assembly. Reforms fell well short of protesters' demands, however, and dissidence continued, buoyed by the new power of Iraqi Shia after the fall of Saddam.