A History of Modern Oman

Transcription

1 A History of Modern Oman An ideal introduction to the history of modern Oman from the eighteenth century to the present, this book combines the most recent scholarship on Omani history with insights drawn from a close analysis of the politics and international relations of contemporary Oman. Jeremy Jones and Nicholas Ridout offer a distinctive new approach to Omani history, building on postcolonial thought and integrating the study of politics and culture. The book addresses key topics, including Oman s historical cosmopolitanism, the distinctive role of Omani Islam in the country s social and political life, Oman s role in the global economy of the nineteenth century, insurrection and revolution in the twentieth century, the role of Sultan Qaboos in the era of oil and Oman s unique regional and diplomatic perspective on contemporary issues. Jeremy Jones has an Oxford-based consulting business and has worked on Oman since the 1980s. His first book, Negotiating Change: The New Politics of the Middle East (2007), anticipated the Arab Spring. He is Senior Associate Member at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. Nicholas Ridout has worked with Jeremy Jones on research in Oman since Their first book together, Oman, Culture and Diplomacy, was published in He is also Professor of Theatre at Queen Mary University of London and has published extensively on theatre and performance.

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3 A History of Modern Oman JEREMY JONES NICHOLAS RIDOUT

4 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY , USA Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. Information on this title: / This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2015 Printed in the United States of America A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Jones, Jeremy, 1954 A history of modern Oman / Jeremy Jones, Nicholas Ridout. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN (hardback) ISBN (pbk.) 1. Oman History 20th century. 2. Oman History. I. Ridout, Nicholas Peter. II. Title. DS247.O68J dc ISBN Hardback ISBN Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Web sites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

5 Contents List of Figures List of Maps Acknowledgements page vi vii ix Introduction 1 Part One Foundations 1 Oman and the Al Bu Said 23 2 Oman, Zanzibar and Empire 35 3 Oman in the Age of British Ascendancy and the Arab Nahda 64 Part Two Modern History 4 The Sultanate as Nation, Dhofar Oil, Government and Security, Shura, Diplomacy and Economic Liberalisation, Oman in the Twenty-First Century 232 Bibliography 273 Index 281 v

6 Figures 1 Sultan Barghash, a carte de visite, 1865 page 83 2 Sultan Faisal with Sayyid Taimur and Sayyid Said, Sultan Taimur and his court, Sultan Said in Nizwa after its capture by Sultan Said in Imam Ghalib and Sulayman bin Himyar with President Nasser in The ruins of Sulayman bin Himyar s house at Birkat al Mowz Lieutenant Said Salim with Said Musalim Said al-mahri Jabbalis at the Salalah perimeter fence, Eid al-adha at Muscat, 1969 (Sayyid Ahmed bin Ibrahim, Sayyid Nadir, Sayyid Sultan, Sayyid Thuwaini, Sayyid Abbas and Sayyid Malik) Sultan Qaboos s accession to the throne, with Sayyid Shihab officiating Shaikh Buraik Sultan Qaboos, Shaikh Zayed of Abu Dhabi and Sayyid Tariq in Muscat, A Dhofari rebel commander, Sayyid Thuwaini attending Oman UAE border demarcation work A Dhofari dancer at Sultan Qaboos s wedding Sultan Qaboos with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Elections in Muscat, Protests outside Majlis ash Shura, Sultan Qaboos with President Rouhani of Iran, Sultan Qaboos, Muscat vi

7 Maps 1 Oman page x 2 Oman in the Gulf xi 3 Oman in the Indian Ocean xii vii

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9 Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank all the friends, citizens and officials in Oman who have generously given their time to conversations and discussions with the authors over the many years of their work in Oman. Thanks are also due to the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies. They are grateful, also, to two anonymous readers for the Press, whose advice helped refine and develop the book. Special thanks, for assistance with the preparation of materials for the book, to Debbie Usher at the Middle East Centre Archive, St Anthony s College, Oxford, and to Orlagh Woods and Liz Heasman. ix

10 P e r s QATAR Doha i a n G u l f Hormuz Khasab Strait of Hormuz MUSANDAM IRAN Abu Dhabi UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Buraimi H a Sohar B AT I N A H Sea of Oman Seeb Muttrah Dank Barka Rustaq Jebel Nakhl Muscat Ibri Akhdar Sait Hamra Tanuf DHAHIRAH Bahla Izki Nizwa SHARQIYAH Sur Adam Fahud DAKHLIYA j a r M o u n t a i n s SAUDI N ARABIA A Masirah M Duqm O DHOFAR YEMEN Thamrayt Salalah Taqa Mugsayl Rakhyut Raysut Mirbat Arabian Sea km miles Map 1. Oman. x

11 Tehran Baghdad I R A N H I J A Z Medina Mecca Basra Kuwait Dammam Diriyah Riyadh N A J D Bushehr Greater and Lesser Tunb Bandar Abbas Qishm Bahrain Abu Musa Ras Doha Dubai al-khaimah Abu Sohar Dhabi Buraimi Muscat Nizwa Sur A N M Duqm O Salalah km Map 2. Oman in the Gulf miles xi

12 R e d S e a Persian Gulf Salalah Gwadar Sohar Muscat OMAN Sur Duqm Arabian Sea SIND Karachi Diu Head Mumbai GUJARAT Goa Mysore Kannur Malabar Coast Kozhikode Kollam Bay of Bengal Malindi Dar es Salaam Pate Mombasa Pemba Zanzibar Kilwa Cape Delgado INDIAN OCEAN Mauritius Réunion km Map 3. Oman in the Indian Ocean miles xii