Survey of Terrorism • 429license. Having had a constitution since 1999, it will eventually hold elec¬
tions for a consultative council.
Bahrain is a kingdom made up of one large and several small islands
strategically located in the Persian Gulf. Although it enjoys high living stan¬
dards, its oil reserves are relatively depleted, and so it has developed finan¬
cial and other services that will compensate for an anticipated decline in oil
revenues. Its ruling family is Sunni, but its people are more than 60 percent
Shi'i, and about 10 percent are Iranian. The country has had a constitution
since 1999 and held its first elections for a representative chamber in 2002.
Iran has not recently pressed its historic claim to Bahrain, and the terrorist
threat of the early 1980s has receded. Bahrainis continue to demonstrate
for more democracy.
Kuwait has recovered from the 1990-1991 Iraqi occupation, but it cost
$5.5 billion to repair the damage Iraqi troops did to its oil installations. Its
thriving economy continues to attract immigrants from abroad. Kuwaiti
Arabs make up less than half the population, which includes Egyptians,
Lebanese, Turks, Palestinians (fewer than before 1991), Pakistanis, and Indi¬
ans. Although under monarchical rule, Kuwait has had a constitution since
- In its parliamentary elections, held in 2003, most of the delegates cho¬
sen were Islamists. Voting rights, formerly limited to descendants of those
who were Kuwaiti subjects in 1920, have been extended to males who have
been naturalized residents for thirty years, but not yet to women. The popu¬
lation is about 25 percent Shi'i. The current terrorist risk is small; a few
Kuwaiti youths have crossed over to Iraq to join in the jihad against the US
occupation, but the common saying is that "there is no terrorism in Kuwait."
Egypt
The lower valley and delta of the River Nile contains more than 76 million
Egyptians led by President Husni Mubarak, who—not by coincidence—
has been elected unopposed four times. Under its 1971 constitution, Egypt
has an elected People's Assembly. Since 1976 several political parties have
participated in Egypt's assembly, but Mubarak's National Democratic Party
remains the strongest. Economic conditions improved during the 1990s,
but aggregate growth has stagnated since 2000, and many Egyptians go
abroad in search of higher-paying jobs. The main opposition to Mubarak
comes from Islamist groups, especially the Society of Muslim Brothers,
which has renounced terrorism. Both al-Jihad, whose members assassi¬
nated Sadat and have ties with al-Qa'ida, and al-Jama'a al-Islamiya operate
underground and strongly criticize the Egyptian government's policy of