Essential Information & explanations, latest texts & monographs on Bahrain.

Dancing With Cats by Burton Silver

Lonely Planet Bahrain, Kuwait & Qatar (Bahrain, Kuwait and Qat (The Gulf States) 1st Ed) by Gordon Robison

This Way Gulf States: Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen by Jpm Publications

Britain's Revival and Fall in the Gulf: Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the Trucial States, 1950-71 by Simon C. Smith

Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and the Uae: Challenges of Security (Csis Middle East Dynamic Net Assessment) by Anthony H. Cordesman

Lonely Planet Arab Gulf States: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia & the United Arab Emirates (Lonely Planet Travel Survival Kit) by Gordon Robison

Lonely Planet Arab Gulf States: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Oatar, Saudi Arabia & the United Arab Emirates (2nd Ed) by Gordon Robison

Dilmun and its Gulf Neighbours by Harriet E. W. Crawford

Bahrain Through the Ages: The Archaeology by Shaikha Haya Alkhalifa

Bahrain by Carol Ann Gillespie

The Making of the Modern Gulf States: Kuwait, Bahrain, Quatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman by Rosemarie Said Zahlan

Poverty Begins at Home: The Mother-Child Education Programme (Mocep) in the Kingdom of Bahrain by Julie Hadeed

Islamic Remains at Bahrain (Jutland Archaeological Society Publications, 37) by Karen Frifelt

Judiciary and Arbitration in Bahrain: Historical and Analytical Study (Arab and Islamic Laws Series) by Hassan Ali Radhi

The International Directory of Importers: Middle East: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabi by Interdata

Bahrain

Bahrain is an island kingdom in the Arabian Gulf (Southwest Asia/Middle East, Asia), capital Manama. Saudi Arabia is to the west, and is connected to Bahrain by a causeway, Qatar is to the south across the Gulf of Bahrain. مملكة البحرينKingdom of Bahrain (In Detail) (Full size) National motto: None Official languages Arabic Capital Manama King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Ali Khalifa Crown Prince of Bahrain Shaikh Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa Area - Total - % waterRanked 175th 665 km² 0% Population - Total (2003) - Density Ranked 157th 667.238 987/km² Independence - DateFrom Persia 1783 Currency Bahraini Dinar (BHD) Time zone UTC+3 National anthem Bahrainona (Our Bahrain) Internet TLD.bh Calling Code973 Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 History 2 Politics 3 Municipalities 4 Geography 5 Economy 6 Demographics 7 Culture 8 Education 9 Miscellaneous topics 10 External links History Main article: History of Bahrain Bahrain has been populated by humans since prehistoric times. It's location in the Persian Gulf put it in a strategic location that has brought rule from the Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, and finally the Arabs, under whom the island became Muslim. The modern history of Bahrain begins with the Al-Khalifa family, who established a power base in the island nation, and built alliances with the British in order to keep Ottoman influence checked. The British would gain free access to the Persian Gulf through this agreement. Later the British would directly become involved in the politics of Bahrain by hand-picking an emir of the island. Oil was discovered in the early 20th century, and brought rapid modernization and improvements to Bahrain. It also made relations with Britain tighter, and this was evidenced by the British moving more bases to the island nation. British influence would continue to grow, culminating with Charles Belgrave who was appointed as an advisor, and who set up modern educational systems in Bahrain. After World War II, increasing anti-British feeling spread throughout the Arab world and led to some riots in Bahrain. The British withdrew from Bahrain in 1971, making it an independent emirate. The oil boom of the 1980s greatly benefitted Bahrain, but its downturn was not as badly felt as the economy of Bahrain began to diversify. In the 1990s, increased calls for a representative government pushed the then-emir to move, and form the first cabinet in 1994. This group was increased in number as the decade went on, but was not wholly satisfactory and led to some rioting. The Gulf War also brought a heavy American military presence to Bahrain that remains to this day and is a cause of tension. Politics Main article: Politics of Bahrain Bahrain is a hereditary kingdom under the rule of the Al-Khalifa family. The King is the chief executive and head of state. The prime minister is head of government. Both these posts are filled by members of the Al-Khalifa family, the king being Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister, his uncle Khalifa bin Salman Ali Khalifa. Both rule through consultation with ministers. The judiciary system is relatively independent of the government and is based on diverse legal sources, including Shia and Sunni Islamic law. The new king has worked to improve civil rights and increase democratic reforms. Municipal elections were held in 2002, and legislative elections will be held in 2004. King Hamad has also stated his intention to have a house of the legislative portion of the government that is composed of delegates elected by both males and females. Municipalities Main article: Municipalities of Bahrain Bahrain is split into twelve municipalities that are all administered from the capital city of Manama:

Geography Main article: Geography of Bahrain Bahrain is an archipelago that is generally flat, and arid. Economy Main article: Economy of Bahrain In Bahrain, petroleum production and processing account for about 60% of export receipts, 60% of government revenues, and 30% of GDP. Economic conditions have fluctuated with the changing fortunes of oil since 1985, for example, during and following the Gulf crisis of 1990-91. With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the Gulf. A large share of exports consists of petroleum products made from imported crude. Construction proceeds on several major industrial projects. Unemployment, especially among the young, and the depletion of both oil and underground water resources are major long-term economic problems. Demographics Main article: Demographics of Bahrain The official religion of Bahrain is Islam. Shiite Muslims are the majority, composing about 66% of the population, but the Sunni Muslims dominate the government, military and security forces. There are small indigenous Jewish minorities, and some Christian ones, largely composed of foreign workers. Two thirds of Bahrain's population consists of Arabs while the rest of guest workers that are largely from Iran, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Culture Main article: Culture of Bahrain Bahrain holds the Bahrain Grand Prix. In 2004, it was held on April 4. Holidays DateEnglish NameLocal NameRemarks January 1 New Year's Day- December 16National Day-- December 17Accesion Day-- date variesFeast of the Sacrifice or the Big FeastEid ul-AdhaCommemorates Abrahams willingness to sacrifice his son, occurs at the end of the month of hajj date variesthe Little FeastEid ul-FitrCommemorates end of Ramadan date variesHijri New YearMuharramIslamic New Year date variesAl-Isra' ul-Miraj-Commemorates Muhammad's trip to heaven date variesProphet Muhammads birthdayMawlid al-Nabi- date variesAshoura death of imam Husain Al Shaheed (AS)- See also Big Brother television program. Education Main article: Education in Bahrain Miscellaneous topics

External links

official web site
Bahrain News Agency
Library of Congress Portals on the World - Bahrain
CIA - The World Factbook -- Bahrain - CIA's Factbook on Bahrain

The above article is adapted from from Wikipedia All Wikipedia article text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

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Note again ... some material here is adapted from from Wikipedia All Wikipedia article text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

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