Bahrain may be tiny, and fairly insignificant as an oil producer, but nearly $10 billion parked in mutual funds in the kingdom mean plenty is at stake if protests inspired by Egypt and Tunisia spiral out of control.
Religious leaders camp out at the Pearl Roundabout, a famous landmark of Bahrain, in the heart of its capital Manama February 15, 2011. (REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed)
It is the Gulf Arab state seen as most vulnerable to unrest because of deep-rooted discontent among its majority Shi'ite population against the ruling Sunni dynasty, the al-Khalifas. The populace complains of economic hardships, lack of political freedoms and discrimination in jobs in favour of Sunnis.
This has always sat awkwardly with its status as a regional banking, trading and Islamic finance hub, but its advantages, as a diversified economy and relatively liberal society, have outweighed the risks -- thus far.
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