Oman is the inheritor of a unique political tradition, the imama (imamate), and has a special place in the Arab Islamic world. From the eighth century and for more than a thousand years, the story of Oman was essentially a story of an original, minority, movement: the Ibadi. This long period was marked by the search for a just imama through the Ibadi model of the Islamic State.
Hussein Ghubash’s well-researched book takes the reader on an historical voyage through geography, politics, and culture of the region, from the sixteenth century to the present day. Oman has long-standing ties with East Africa as well as Europe; the first contact between Oman and European imperialist powers took place at the dawn of the 1500s with the arrival of the Portuguese, eventually followed by the Dutch, French and British.
Persuasive, thorough and drawing on Western as well as Islamic political theory, this book analyzes the different historical and geopolitical roles of this strategic country. Thanks to its millennial tradition, Oman enjoys a solid national culture and a stable socio-political situation. Today, it is moving steadily towards a democratic future.
Acknowledgments Table of Contents Transcription System According to Arabic Alphabetical Order Introduction Part 1:The Imama State from its Formation to the British Colonial Order Preliminary Chapter 1. THE IBADòI DOCTRINE: ORIGIN, THOUGHT AND TRADITION
IBADHITE ORIGINS OR AL-IBADòIYYAH
THE IMAMA SYSTEM. FROM THE CHOICE OF THE IMAM TO THE FOUR STATES OF THE IMAMATHE INSTITUTIONS OF THE IMAMA
CHAPTER II
THE PORTUGUESE PERIOD 1500-1650
HISTORICAL OUTLINE
A CHALLENGE TO PORTUGUESE DOMINATION
CHAPTER III
THE EXAMPLE OF THE IBADHI ISLAMIC STATE IN MODERN HISTORY
IMAM NASòER IBN MURSHED AL-YA?RUBI (1624-1649)
THE DECLINE OF THE YA'RUBITE STATE
CHAPTER IV
AL-BU SA?IDI'S STATE. THE ORIGIN OF THE SULTANATE SYSTEM
IMAM AHòMED IBN SA?ID AL-BU SA?IDI (1741-1783)
FRANCO-OMANI RELATIONS FROM THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENTTO THE EXPEDITION TO EGYPT
THE CHALLENGE TO THE TREATY OF 1798 AND THE EMERGENCE OF THE WAHHABIS
CHAPTER V
"SAHòEL OMAN". THE COMMON HISTORY (1750-1850)A HISTORICAL REMINDER
THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN AL-QAWASIM AND GREAT BRITAIN
LATER DEVELOPMENTS IN OMAN AND "SAHòEL OMAN" UNTIL THE PROTECTORATE REGIME
CONCLUSION OF PART 1
PART 2 : FROM THE COLONIAL CHALLENGE TO THE IMAMATE RESPONSE;FROM THE DISMANTLING OF THE OMANI EMPIRE TO THE PRESENT DAYCHAPTER VITHE OMANI-AFRICAN STATE (1650-1860).
THE SULTANATES
OMANI -AFRICAN LINKS TILL THE END OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
FROM THE SEPARATION OF ZANZIBAR TO THE FRANCO-ENGLISH DECLARATION OF MARCH 1862
CHAPTER VII
THE REVOLUTION OF IMAM ?AZZAN IBN QAYS AL-BU SA?IDI (1869-1871)
NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN BRITISH POLICY
THE REVOLUTION OF 'AZZAN IBN QAYS (1869-1871)THE IBADHI NAHDòA
THE WATERSHED OF 1870 AND THE FALL OF THE IMAM
CHAPTER VIII
OMAN BETWEEN INDEPENDENCE AND DEPENDENCE
FAYSòAL'S DILEMMA
THE MUSCAT CRISIS
CHAPTER IX
THE SULTANATE OF MUSCAT AND THE IMAMA OF OMAN
"THE BRITISH LAKE" AND THE CHALLENGE OF THE IBADHITE MOVEMENT
THE IMAMA OF MUHAMMAD BIN ABD ALLAH AL-KHALILI (1919-1954)
CHAPTER X
THE REVOLUTION OF 1955-1964: TOWARDS THE ENDOF COLONIAL PARTITION AND CHAOS
AL-BURAIMI; THE OIL CONFLICT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
DISCUSSION OF IDENTITY AND LEGITIMACY
CONCLUSION OF PART II
GENERAL CONCLUSION
Appendices
Maps
Glossary
Sources and Bibliography
Index
Biography
Dr Ghubash is the author of several books and the U.A.E. ambassador to UNESCO. He holds a PhD in political science.
