Kuwait
POPULATION 2,111,561
SUNNI MUSLIM 59.5 percent
SHIITE MUSLIM 25.5 percent
BUDDHIST, CATHOLIC, HINDU, PROTESTANT, SIKH, AND OTHER 15 percent
Country Overview
Introduction
Kuwait is a small country situated on the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf. It is bounded by Iraq to the north and west and by Saudi Arabia to the south. Its territories include the islands of Bubiyan, Warba, and Faylaka, as well as other islands and islets. Its land is mainly flat and arid with little ground water.
Although it never played a major role in the strategic Persian Gulf region until the twentieth century, Kuwait was important in the religious development of the area's nomadic Arab tribes. When Islam spread to Iraq and Persia, Kuwait functioned as a passage for Muslim missions, armies, and trade. During the medieval Islamic period, Kuwait remained an indistinguishable tribal land. The development of Kuwait proper, especially its religious character, did not occur until the economic and political prospects of the gulf region as a whole changed in the eighteenth century, by which time migrating 'Utub tribesmen from eastern Arabia were increasing their control over Kuwait. More specifically, the 'Utub were determined to defend Kuwait against attacks by Wahhabi reformists.
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