Editing Manama (section)

==Demographics==
{{main|Demographics of Bahrain}}
{{Historical populations
|align=right
|1860s|8000|1904|25000|1941|27835|1950|39648|1959|61726|1965|79098|1971|88785|1981|121986|2010|329510
|footnote = Source:{{sfn|Ben Hamouche|2008|p=202}} [http://www.census2010.gov.bh/results_en.php Bahrain Census 2010]
}}

The role of Manama as a regional port city in the Persian Gulf made it a hub for migrant workers in search of a better living. As a result, Manama has often been described, both in the pre-oil and post-oil era, as a [[cosmopolitanism|cosmopolitan]] city.{{sfn|Ben Hamouche|2008|p=191}} In 1904, it was estimated that Manama's population numbered 25,000, out of which half were believed to have been foreigners from [[Basra]], [[Najd]], [[Al-Ahsa Oasis|al-Hasa]] and [[Iran]], as well as from India and Europe.{{sfn|Fuccaro|2005|p=44}}

===Religion===

The two main branches of [[Islam]], [[Shia Islam]] and [[Sunni Islam]], coexisted in Manama for centuries and are represented by distinct ethnic groups. The Shia community is represented by the native Arab [[Baharna]], the [[Al-Ahsa Oasis|Hasawis]] and [[Qatif]]is of mainland Arabia and the Persian [[Persians in Bahrain|Ajam]].{{sfn|Ben Hamouche|2008|p=191}} The Sunni community is represented by Arab [[Bedouin]] tribes who migrated in the eighteenth century along with the [[Bani Utbah]] and the [[Huwala]].