MANAMA, 10 November 2005 — A poll published yesterday in Bahrain that surveyed views on education, business and the importance of Shariah (Islamic) law in the Middle East found that the majority supported its application to business.
The poll, which was carried out in six Arab countries, found that supporters agreed that further interpretation is needed to allow businesses in the Muslim world to integrate into the global economy. The poll covered Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Only those surveyed in Jordan and Lebanon rejected applying Islamic law to business, with 67 percent of the Lebanese, rejecting it overwhelmingly.
The findings of the poll which also addressed issues related to education, unemployment and the rule of law in the region, were revealed during the opening day of the World Economic Forum’s Arab Business Council in Bahrain.
Addressing the forum’s opening session, Shafiq Gabr, the president of the council, called for increased “political participation” and privatization as essential vehicles for democratic change in the region.
More than 150 ministers and business leaders from 25 Arab and foreign countries are taking part in the two-day event to discuss issues linked to education, the Arab media, youth, trade and competitiveness.
The meeting opened ahead of the Nov. 11-12 “Forum for the Future”, also in Manama, where foreign ministers of the G8 and Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) are to discuss the US-sponsored BMENA initiative.
Gabr said a three-member team from the council would attend the ministerial meeting to present the viewpoint of the Arab business community toward reforms.
The survey that was conducted by Zogby International also found that trust for a popularly elected Islamic government to abide by the rules of a democracy varied significantly from one country to the other.
Seventy-two percent of Saudis and 70 percent of Emiratis said they would trust an elected Islamic government to follow democratic rules, compared to just 36 percent of Lebanese when asked the same question.
The survey pointed out that Christians in Lebanon were most skeptical, with just one in five saying they believed an Islamic government would abide by the laws of a democracy.
Across the board there was shaky trust expressed in the quality of the region’s education systems, with those confident in them just barely being over the 50-percent mark.
Egyptians were the least confident in their nation’s education system. Only 15 percent of them said they believed the current system there prepared their young for successful careers in today’s global economy.
The Saudis and Emiratis were the most confident in their education system, which is heavily dependent on expatriate Arab teachers, many of them from Egypt.
Fifty-six percent of people in the two countries said that their educational systems were working properly.
