After several days in Egypt, I arrived in Bahrain last night after a short stopover in Qatar. The Kingdom of Bahrain - where I will be for the next week - is a tiny island nation in the Persian Gulf, between Saudi Arabia and Iran. There is a bridge that connects the country with Saudi Arabia. Bahrain, which has a population of about one million, is completely westernized (with the exception being pork) and is BY FAR the most developed place I've been to on this trip. It's pretty much just like the U.S. The economy in Bahrain is largely based on oil, yet in recent years, the country has become a money center - much like New York, London or Hong Kong. Bahrain also gained notoriety during the last few years, as a Bahraini prince would host Michael Jackson any time he got into legal trouble (read: little boys).
I met up with about thirty classmates from business school who are taking a week-long class in Bahrain with me. Today, we talked with a few banks who educated us about Islamic Finance. Basically, the banks must adhere to the principles of Islam, one of which strictly forbids charging interest. To get around this, the banks set up investments and accounts in a specific way to get around the restriction on interest charges and payments. It's a fairly interesting (pun intended) structure and process.
Downtown Manama - Bahrain's Capital
I met up with about thirty classmates from business school who are taking a week-long class in Bahrain with me. Today, we talked with a few banks who educated us about Islamic Finance. Basically, the banks must adhere to the principles of Islam, one of which strictly forbids charging interest. To get around this, the banks set up investments and accounts in a specific way to get around the restriction on interest charges and payments. It's a fairly interesting (pun intended) structure and process.
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