MIDDLE EAST

The Middle East has mainly a hot climate and in many areas it has arid lands due to extreme heat. Still there is also fresh weather in the Mediterranean coast. Is a strategic land economically, politically, culturally, and religiously sensitive. It also has a very diverse population. Some of it ethnicities are Arab, Persian, Armenian, African, Turks, Greek, African and Jewish.

The economy of this region is very diverse, iy has positive growth. The country with the highest GDP per capita is Qatar with USD 103.500 for 2008 and the one with the less GDP per capita is Yemen with USD 2400. The largest Economies in the region are: Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The women in Meddle East are still very discriminated and women are barred from some professions, there are new opportunities in entrepreneurial ground. Although important achievements have been made by women like: Advances in the Chambers of Commerce and
OECD’s Centre for Entrepreneurship.

We also discussed some of the most important facts of the principal countries:

DUBBAI: has a Class-based society, Football and cricket are the most popular sports in Dubai.

QATAR: His bases its government in the Sharia Law and the majority of its citizens follow Hanbali Madhhab that is a school of religious law that teaches the body of the religion (Sharia). All the citizens are regulated by this law. The majority of the citizens are Sunni Muslims (Wahhabis) but there is a large minority of Shi'a Muslims.

YEMEN: About one-fourth of the gross domestic product is derived from agriculture. However, the nation imports more than sixty percent of its food needs. Religiously speaking Yemenis observe the Five Pillars of Islam, including five prayers a day and a daytime fast during the month of Ramadan. The weekly day of rest is Friday.

ISRAEL: His capital is Jerusalem, the government is a Parliamentary Democracy. Most of the population has similar living standards, is the 2nd country with highest US cooperation

QUESTION: How the Islamic finances affects the Middle East completely?

"Anyone who seeks to work in the Islamic world should be interested in this area, because it s booming, understanding Islamic finance is highly valued in the marketplace.

Islamic finance resurfaced in the 1970s and was updated in the wake of the oil boom in the Middle East.
Today, there`s an increasing number of financial products and services available that are
compliant with Islamic finance. Rising petroleum prices, increased attention on the Middle East as a result of politics, and competition between Bahrain and Dubai for the title of Middle Eastern financial center are other factors contributing to the economic surge"

Bibliografia:
http://web.ebscohost.com.libgate.library.nuigalway.ie/ehost/delivery?vid=15&hid. Dimeglio 2007, pg 2