According to historian Juan Cole it was under Sunni rule that Twelver Shiaism became established in Bahrain, as Shia Bahrainis gradually moved away from the radical, egalitarian Ismaili Qarmatian sect to the more quietist Twelver or Imami branch, a process which the Sunni rulers encouraged. But even in the 14th century, the North African traveller Ibn Battuta visiting Qatif around 1331, found it inhabited by Arabs whom he described as "extremist Shi'is" (rafidiyya ghulat), which Cole presumes is how a 14th-century Sunni would describe Ismailis. Ibn Battuta also noted the great wealth of the area thanks to the pearling industry.