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Article: Bahrain.(Sunni and Shia Muslims want more than political gestures from Sheikh Hamad)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- July 17, 1999
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Suddenly, it's time for charm
MANAMA
ARE Bahrain's Sunni Muslim royal family and its largely Shia Muslim subjects at last learning to get along? Since he succeeded his father in March, Bahrain's new emir, Sheikh Hamad, has been making ostentatious overtures to Bahrain's poor and restive Shia majority. For instance, soon after he took over, it was Ashoura, the most important holiday in the Shia calendar, so he presented every congregation in the country with a couple of sheep and some rice.
He has allowed Shias into the army, where they were hitherto spurned as untrustworthy. He has admitted a team from Amnesty International, a ...