Author : Rajeswary Ampalavanar Brown
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780191976506
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.04/5 ( download)
Book Synopsis Islam and Capitalism in the Making of Modern Bahrain by : Rajeswary Ampalavanar Brown
Download or read book Islam and Capitalism in the Making of Modern Bahrain written by Rajeswary Ampalavanar Brown and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In recent decades, the culture, society, politics, and economics, indeed the national identities, of Bahrain have been transformed, driving its global ambitions while retaining to a degree the rule of law and cosmopolitanism. Bahrain has sought to liberate the economy and business through the evolution of a legislative framework, although one often manipulated by the monarchy. At the same time, the Islamic charities in Bahrain, the waqf and ma'tam, as well as Ja'fari jurisprudence, have provided a degree of autonomy and legal clarity for the Shi'ite majority in what is a Sunni-dominated state. Their powerful presence has moderated commercial capitalism and aggressive nationalism. Moreover, Bahrain has achieved a remarkable transformation towards market-led capitalism, seen most notably in its emergence as a major centre of Islamic finance and in the creation of substantial industrial diversification. As a result, Bahrain has become integral to the success of the Gulf Cooperation Council that was established in 1981, drawing in the vast oil wealth of its Gulf neighbours. It has frequently been argued that oil resources have been a curse for those who possess them, distorting the possibilities for economic progress. That has not been the case with Bahrain. But economic transformation has also brought fractures to the society and politics of Bahrain. Notable here is the large presence of foreign labour particularly in the private sector. Much of the manual labourers were of Indian origin but there was a fair proportion of technocrats from India and Egypt. This segmentation of labour has acted to impede the development of essential skills and the improvement of labour productivity for indigenous labour. The education and skills gap between foreign and local labour is arguably more divisive for modern Bahrain than the religious divisions between the Sunni state and its Shi'a majority. This was illustrated in the Arab Spring protests when populist movements were largely Shi'ite and Sunni youth with serious grievances regarding the lack of jobs and lack of skills training"--