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 1989. Their first book together, Oman, Culture and Diplomacy, was published in 2012. He is also Professor of Theatre at Queen Mary University of London and has published extensively on theatre and performance.
A History of Modern Oman JEREMY JONES NICHOLAS RIDOUT
32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013-2473, 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: /9781107402027 2015 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 978-1-107-00940-0 (hardback) ISBN 978-1-107-40202-7 (pbk.) 1. Oman History 20th century. 2. Oman History. I. Ridout, Nicholas Peter. II. Title. DS247.O68J66 2015 953.53 dc23 2015016106 ISBN 978-1-107-00940-0 Hardback ISBN 978-1-107-40202-7 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.
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, 1932 1959 99 5 Dhofar 132 6 Oil, Government and Security, 1955 1980 161 7 Shura, Diplomacy and Economic Liberalisation, 1980 2000 195 8 Oman in the Twenty-First Century 232 Bibliography 273 Index 281 v
Figures 1 Sultan Barghash, a carte de visite, 1865 page 83 2 Sultan Faisal with Sayyid Taimur and Sayyid Said, 1913 93 3 Sultan Taimur and his court, 1913 96 4 Sultan Said in 1957 101 5 Nizwa after its capture by Sultan Said in 1957 126 6 Imam Ghalib and Sulayman bin Himyar with President Nasser in 1959 129 7 The ruins of Sulayman bin Himyar s house at Birkat al Mowz 130 8 Lieutenant Said Salim with Said Musalim Said al-mahri 140 9 Jabbalis at the Salalah perimeter fence, 1968 145 10 Eid al-adha at Muscat, 1969 (Sayyid Ahmed bin Ibrahim, Sayyid Nadir, Sayyid Sultan, Sayyid Thuwaini, Sayyid Abbas and Sayyid Malik) 148 11 Sultan Qaboos s accession to the throne, with Sayyid Shihab officiating 148 12 Shaikh Buraik 149 13 Sultan Qaboos, Shaikh Zayed of Abu Dhabi and Sayyid Tariq in Muscat, 1970 151 14 A Dhofari rebel commander, 1971 154 15 Sayyid Thuwaini attending Oman UAE border demarcation work 155 16 A Dhofari dancer at Sultan Qaboos s wedding 159 17 Sultan Qaboos with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, 1994 218 18 Elections in Muscat, 1997 229 19 Protests outside Majlis ash Shura, 2011 245 20 Sultan Qaboos with President Rouhani of Iran, 2014 253 21 Sultan Qaboos, Muscat 2013 259 vi
Maps 1 Oman page x 2 Oman in the Gulf xi 3 Oman in the Indian Ocean xii vii
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
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 0 100 200 300 km 0 50 100 150 miles Map 1. Oman. x
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 0 500 1000 km Map 2. Oman in the Gulf. 0 250 500 750 miles xi
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 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 km Map 3. Oman in the Indian Ocean. 0 250 500 750 1000 1250 1500 miles xii