Oman's Great Treasure

With some sadness I noted the passing of Oman’s Sultan Qaboos bin Said on January 10^th this year. For fifty years he was the figurehead of one of the Middle East’s most stable countries.

As the omnipotent ruler of several million people, the Oxford-educated Qaboos inspired widespread personal loyalty for his progressiveness. In 1970 when he took power from his reactionary father with British support, the scattered tribal country was divided and underdeveloped. In addition to an advisory Council of State, Qaboos established an elected Consultative Council. He used Oman’s comparatively modest oil resources to fund modern infrastructure and communications.

Education became paramount: it is free, but not compulsory, through secondary school; internal and external scholarships are available for university and colleges. Free national health care; universal suffrage; slavery was banished. Early on Qaboos had the foresight to plan for developing alternate resources, knowing oil is exhaustible.

Birthplace of Sultan Qaboos, Salalah

It wasn’t all roses during Qaboos’ rule, of course. The ripples of the Arab Spring (2011) were relatively minor in Oman with largely peaceful demonstrations for reform, although on occasion security forces did use tear gas and other measures to dispel crowds. Two people died, and more were arrested, charged with illegal gathering. Qaboos complied with reforming to a degree; he weeded out perceived corruption in his State Council and extended the Consultative Council’s powers. Despite being more liberal than its neighbouring Arab states, Oman nonetheless is under Human Rights Watch for the rights of women and immigrant labourers, as well as for harassment of political critics.

As a younger man

Oman has a majority Ibadi Muslim population, which partially accounts for it avoiding the Sunni-Shia sectarian conflicts in other parts of the Middle East and Africa. Smaller (but historically slightly older) than the two main sects of Islam, it is considered more tolerant and prone to justice without violence. Omani law protects all religious faiths.

Internal policies aside, Oman is a great pleasure to visit. The pleasure comes from not only the great variety and beauty of its expanses, but the genuine, warm friendliness of its people whether you meet them in urban or rural settings.

Palace gate, Muscat

The man himself, who united his country and inspired that personal loyalty, was intelligent, soft-spoken, and globally respected; Qaboos’ diplomacy in mediation was sought by all major powers in countless Middle East negotiations. And so he leaves a profound legacy inside and outside of Oman. 

Inshallah — may his successor, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, continue to earn such respect and extend human rights goals. I end with a quote:

Oman today ranks at the top tier of most human-development indexes but with little of the conspicuous consumption or flash of its richer Gulf Arab neighbors. Out of a fractious population of several million, riven by tribal and confessional differences, Qaboos shaped a sense of national identity in a region where sectarian divisions were multiplying. -- William J. Burns, 13 January 2020, “The Death of a Temperate Leader in an Intemperate Region,” The Atlantic (https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/01/sultan-qaboos-oman/604807/ : viewed 10 February 2020).