A Six-Point Plan

Inactivity is pretty boring, isn't it? It's time to get myself in gear - something I'm somewhat hesitant to say as that's the topic of my last post. I have an ideal image in my head of posting something noteworthy every single day, but the chances of that happening are slim. So to inspire myself to work, I'm going to make public my list of blogging ideas, and invite any reader to help with the list.

• The link between the royal families of the Persian Gulf. This was brought to mind by a comment left by a Victoria on my big February post, and some history I've been reading has just so happens to compliment this topic; I've been reading about the Portuguese occupation of Bahrain in the 16th century, which in several respects shaped the political make-up of the Persian Gulf, as the power vacuum they created allowed the rise of the Bani Utbah tribe, of which both the Kuwaiti and Bahraini royal families are offshoots of. The issue of the Bahraini and Saudi royalty's relationship is complex, since you have the old and new order at odds with each other. On one hand is the Bahraini PM Khalifa Bin Salman, who's of the same generation as King Abdullah and well connected with the Saudi elite. On the other hand you have the Crown Prince, a man more open to modernising the state (at the very least, he paid lip-service to the idea of reform) but without the power base his great-uncle has cultivated in his long term as prime minister (he's held the job since 1971).
• An analysis of Being Arab by Samir Kassir. His book is an unflinchingly cynical look into the cultural rot of the Arab world. While attitudes have changed drastically in the last 9 months, I think his book is still relevant, reminding us where we've come from. I feel that in it lies ideas important to the Arab Spring and as such picking it apart will be interesting.
• A look into racism in the Middle East. The list of people Arabs are racist towards is disheartening. Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Filipino, Indonesian, Kurd, Berber and let us not forget, Israeli. These people fall into three categories - those who work for Arabs, those who live under Arabs, and those who have invaded the Arabs. This is perhaps the most topical on the list, considering the reports of the Libyan rebels actively discriminating against blacks.
• A look into education in Bahrain. It would be better still if I could open it up to education across the Middle East - Saudi Arabia and Egypt are the two big names. But looking into Bahrain alone might prove large enough a topic. How are social norms of this split country dealt with in the classroom, and how (if at all it) did the myth of  the Sunni/Shia divide propagate in the school before and after the events of March?
• A look into the religious divide in Bahrain. The question of how it has split the country in  and the culture of corruption it's creating is a difficult one. Furthermore, how has it affected Bahrain on an international level? Bahrain falls in between Saudi and Iran and the religious tensions there are a source of great interest to both - or at least, that is what the Saudis want us to think.
• A broader look beyond the Middle East, to other countries and regions which might bring new understanding to the topic. Turkey, Israel and Iran while not truly jumps beyond the Middle East at all are countries I've barely looked at. Certainly with Israel, I've been avoiding the topic. Living in the Middle East and being a Muslim, you're taught to loathe Israel. I didn't want to approach the subject until I could do so with an open mind, and the time, I think, is now. From those stepping stones, to other places.

Six detailed topics is good, I think. This of course will be in between all the updates university and WINOL will inspire in me. It's quite focused on the Middle East and especially Bahrain, but that's what captures my attention. The important, personal issue is not to become so absorbed in that tiny little country as to forget all else, but that's what a topic like the last is for.

The next step is to start plotting these things out.