What if Quatar and Bahrein joined the UAE?

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fortyseven said:
UAE would be the United Arab Emirates.

Just a thought I had in a Mid East history class.

The overall effect would be very small, as the UAE is such a loose federation. I think this is unlikely however, given the cultures and histories of Qatar and Bahrain. Qatar has a Wahabbist dynasty, and Bahrain is largely Shiite with ancient political and cultural ties to Persia.
 
Earlier Omani oil discovery?

If Oman had discovered oil earlier, they also might have been invited. The UAE would have been bigger and more populous. Would Oman have outweighed the others so much? Sharjah doesn't have oil, I think, but was allowed in anyway.
Would they and the Saudis have quarreled about the empty quarter? The supergiant (Shaybah?) field is in there. It might have been developed earlier.
Qatar has a huge gas field. With the oil from Shaybah or whatever, they might have developed it earlier. Gas and oil don't really compete. Gas is for peaking electric power. Oil is for transport fuels.
 
They were invited to join but said no actually. I didnt think it would change much. I like having Oman in the UAE too.
 
The overall effect would be very small, as the UAE is such a loose federation. I think this is unlikely however, given the cultures and histories of Qatar and Bahrain. Qatar has a Wahabbist dynasty, and Bahrain is largely Shiite with ancient political and cultural ties to Persia.

But doesn't the UAE have huge economic power nonetheless? And Qatar's Wahabbis aren't as strict as Saudi Arabia's Wahabbis. Then Bahrain's non-ruling-class may be Shiite, but its ruling class is Sunni.
 
A more interesting question is what if the UAE, even as a loose Federated Superstructure (similar to an EU for the middle East) could expand throughout the Arab world?
 
A more interesting question is what if the UAE, even as a loose Federated Superstructure (similar to an EU for the middle East) could expand throughout the Arab world?
Many of the Arab states are republics (and some kingdoms don't have an emir), though, so you would need to change its name. United Arab States? United States of Arabia? ;)
 
Many of the Arab states are republics (and some kingdoms don't have an emir), though, so you would need to change its name. United Arab States? United States of Arabia? ;)

Not necessarily.

A supranational emirate could function like an over arching religious body, operating alongside secular local governance.
 
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