authoritarian or despotic political ends. Egypt proved, until the arrival of the British in 1882, accomplished at absorbing their conquerors and 'Egyptianizing' them. Egypt gradually gained relative political autonomy within the far flung Ottoman Empire and in the late 18th century Mamluk Beys gained effective control of the military and political structures.
The Arabs thoroughly Islamized Bahrain. However, Bahrainis have never embraced the most orthodox and conservative version of Islam, Wahhabism, practiced in Saudi Arabia. The al-Khalifa family has always professed the Sunni Moslem faith, but Bahrain is the only Arab country in which the majority of citizens, 60 percent in 2000, are Shi'ites, who follow the teachings of Ali, the Prophet Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law (Bahrain Europa International Yearbook 2000 565). Egyptians are also predominantly Sunni Muslims. Egypt has had significant pockets of Coptic Christians, Jews and Ismaili and Shi'ite Muslims. Islam has had a profound effect on both nations, produci
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