Poet and Businessman
Abd al-Aziz al-Babtain and the Formation of Modern Kuwait
Published on 9. May 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-1-914983-00-9 (ISBN)
Description
This book reviews and analyses the modern history of Kuwait by telling the story of Abd al-Aziz Sa'ud al-Babtain (b. 1936), a businessman, philanthropist, and poet whose own story closely interweaves with the history of the state.
'The Poet and Businessman' takes a uniquely wide-ranging view of this history and is a rare study of an individual from a generation in the Gulf who experienced it firsthand and witnessed the benefits of the discovery of oil. It was this discovery, which came with costs alongside the many benefits, that has played a crucial part in the socio-economic and cultural development of Kuwait and across the wider Gulf region.
Constructing an overview of the modern history of Kuwait in parallel with the life of Abd al-Aziz Sa'ud al-Babtain, Stenberg succeeds in filling a lacuna in contemporary scholarship on the Middle East, especially on a neglected area of Arabian history. The result is a balanced account of the state of Kuwait enriched by the story of a remarkable and influential individual.
'The Poet and Businessman' takes a uniquely wide-ranging view of this history and is a rare study of an individual from a generation in the Gulf who experienced it firsthand and witnessed the benefits of the discovery of oil. It was this discovery, which came with costs alongside the many benefits, that has played a crucial part in the socio-economic and cultural development of Kuwait and across the wider Gulf region.
Constructing an overview of the modern history of Kuwait in parallel with the life of Abd al-Aziz Sa'ud al-Babtain, Stenberg succeeds in filling a lacuna in contemporary scholarship on the Middle East, especially on a neglected area of Arabian history. The result is a balanced account of the state of Kuwait enriched by the story of a remarkable and influential individual.
Reviews / Votes
'Poet and Businessman provides a wonderful insight into the tremendous change that has gripped the Gulf region, and Kuwait in particular, over the past 70 years. The book is an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the political and social changes in a country that only became independent in 1961. A significant addition to the existing literature.' Dr Christian Koch, Director of Research, Gulf Research Center; 'Stenberg offers an illuminating lens on the history of modern Kuwait in the life of the founder of one of the country's most successful and influential family-owned holding companies. A resourceful entrepreneur and a keen advocate of Arabic poetry and culture, al-Babtain is older than Kuwait itself and his story exemplifies the role his generation of business magnates and philanthropists have had on the country's path to a national identity and economic prosperity.' Lisa Anderson, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University; 'This is an engaging and illuminating work on a period of history in the Gulf region that remains overlooked. A key aspect of Stenberg's discussion is an analysis of Kuwait's post-invasion transformations, shedding light on the hopes and struggles of its leadership and its people, citizens and residents, women and men. Al-Babtain's career captures nuances of, and relationships between,Islam, Arabism, capitalism and culture, both state and popular.' Dr Amal Ghazal, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies and Simon Fraser UniversityMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
GINGKO
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Illustrations
4 black and white illustrations, 4 full colour illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 138 mm
Width: 216 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
434 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-914983-00-9 (9781914983009)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Stenberg Leif Stenberg
Poet and Businessman
Abd al-Aziz al-Babtain and the Formation of Modern Kuwait
E-Book
08/2022
Gingko
€36.99
Available for download
Person
Leif Stenberg is the Dean of the Aga Khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (AKU-ISMC). He is also a professor at AKU-ISMC and in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. From 2007 to 2017, he was the founding Director of the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University, Sweden. Between 2010 and 2019, Professor Stenberg was the president of the Nordic Society of Middle Eastern Studies. Among his publications are The Islamization of Science. Four Muslim Positions Making an Islamic Modernity, 1996, Schaebler & Leif Stenberg (eds.), Globalization and Muslim World: Culture, Religion, and Modernity, 2004, Hooglund, Eric & Leif Stenberg (eds), Navigating Contemporary Iran. Challenging Economic, Social and Political Perceptions, 2012, Salamandra, Christa & Leif Stenberg (eds), Syria from Reform to Revolt Vol. II: Culture, Society and Religion, 2015, and Leif Stenberg and Philip Wood (eds), What is Islamic Studies? European and North American Approaches to a Contested Field, 2022.
Content
Acknowledgements
1. THE STATE OF KUWAIT AND ABD AL-AZIZ SA'UD AL-BABTAIN
Abd al-Aziz al-Babtain: businessman and poet
Introducing Kuwait, the life of al-Babtain and the al-Babtain Foundation
The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and identity insecurity
The National Assembly and the politics of citizenship:
gender, statelessness and tribal traditions
A second war in the Gulf 24 Studying Kuwait and Abd al-Aziz al-Babtain
2. ARABS, TRIBES, THE DESERT AND OIL:
ACKGROUND AND KEY THEMES
The notion of being Arab
Tribal history and the founding of Kuwait
Escape from the Najd
Desert, depression and downturn
The game-changing discovery of oil: the opportunity for entrepreneurship
3. SETTING THE SCENE: THE FOUNDING OF MODERN KUWAIT
Early years of the oil industry: political and economic changes
Property, the State, Islam and Arabism
The emergence of the State of Kuwait: from Sheikh Mubarak to Sheikh Abd Allah
Transformed by wealth: changes for government and citizens alike
4. KUWAIT ON THE WAY UP: THE WORLD OF AL-BABTAIN
A fertile business environment
The financial services rush
A society in flux: citizenship laws, limitations, difference and identity
A loss of heritage? Kuwaiti culture and the diwaniya
Crafting Kuwaiti citizens: the rise of a welfare state for nationals
Developing healthcare
From local to global media
Education: schooling modern Kuwaitis
5. KUWAIT EXPERIENCING CHALLENGES: THE SUCCESS OF AL-BABTAIN
1960s boom and 1970s chaos: the desire to diversify and industrialize
Speculation and Kuwait's nouveau riche
Crash and aftermath
War in the Gulf
A state on its knees, and an exodus
The international community and an end to the war
6. CONTEMPORARY KUWAIT AND THE AL-BABTAIN FOUNDATION
Developments after the liberation of Kuwait
Economic recovery after the Gulf wars
Striving to become a major financial centre
The al-Babtain Foundation: aid programmes and foreign policy
Kuwaiti politics and uprisings in the Middle East
Politics, Islamists and the quest for democratization
Demography and Kuwait's migrant workers
Women in Kuwaiti society: political participation
7. ABD AL-AZIZ AL-BABTAIN: THINKING ABOUT
A LIFE OF CONTINUITY AND CHANGE
Abd al-Aziz, Kuwait and the first scholarships
Expanding the al-Babtain Foundation
The library, changing ambitions and the "dialogue among civilizations"
The al-Babtain Foundation and the media
Promoting a culture of peace and influencing new generations
Poetry, Arab culture, Islam, identity politics and nationalism
8. FINAL REFLECTIONS
KUWAIT TIMELINE
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
1. THE STATE OF KUWAIT AND ABD AL-AZIZ SA'UD AL-BABTAIN
Abd al-Aziz al-Babtain: businessman and poet
Introducing Kuwait, the life of al-Babtain and the al-Babtain Foundation
The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and identity insecurity
The National Assembly and the politics of citizenship:
gender, statelessness and tribal traditions
A second war in the Gulf 24 Studying Kuwait and Abd al-Aziz al-Babtain
2. ARABS, TRIBES, THE DESERT AND OIL:
ACKGROUND AND KEY THEMES
The notion of being Arab
Tribal history and the founding of Kuwait
Escape from the Najd
Desert, depression and downturn
The game-changing discovery of oil: the opportunity for entrepreneurship
3. SETTING THE SCENE: THE FOUNDING OF MODERN KUWAIT
Early years of the oil industry: political and economic changes
Property, the State, Islam and Arabism
The emergence of the State of Kuwait: from Sheikh Mubarak to Sheikh Abd Allah
Transformed by wealth: changes for government and citizens alike
4. KUWAIT ON THE WAY UP: THE WORLD OF AL-BABTAIN
A fertile business environment
The financial services rush
A society in flux: citizenship laws, limitations, difference and identity
A loss of heritage? Kuwaiti culture and the diwaniya
Crafting Kuwaiti citizens: the rise of a welfare state for nationals
Developing healthcare
From local to global media
Education: schooling modern Kuwaitis
5. KUWAIT EXPERIENCING CHALLENGES: THE SUCCESS OF AL-BABTAIN
1960s boom and 1970s chaos: the desire to diversify and industrialize
Speculation and Kuwait's nouveau riche
Crash and aftermath
War in the Gulf
A state on its knees, and an exodus
The international community and an end to the war
6. CONTEMPORARY KUWAIT AND THE AL-BABTAIN FOUNDATION
Developments after the liberation of Kuwait
Economic recovery after the Gulf wars
Striving to become a major financial centre
The al-Babtain Foundation: aid programmes and foreign policy
Kuwaiti politics and uprisings in the Middle East
Politics, Islamists and the quest for democratization
Demography and Kuwait's migrant workers
Women in Kuwaiti society: political participation
7. ABD AL-AZIZ AL-BABTAIN: THINKING ABOUT
A LIFE OF CONTINUITY AND CHANGE
Abd al-Aziz, Kuwait and the first scholarships
Expanding the al-Babtain Foundation
The library, changing ambitions and the "dialogue among civilizations"
The al-Babtain Foundation and the media
Promoting a culture of peace and influencing new generations
Poetry, Arab culture, Islam, identity politics and nationalism
8. FINAL REFLECTIONS
KUWAIT TIMELINE
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX