The Wise Man from Salalah

The country is not really desert whilst being part of the Arabian Peninsula, with a terrain that offers some of the most astonishing beaches and coves that eyes could see. Less than few miles in-land and you can delight at the sight of proudly erected mountains and rugged terrains that stretch for miles on end. The country is not populated by a strictly Bedouin-like society but still camels are herded for labor as well as for commerce (especially for racing since the country produces the best kind ever). Tribal ties remain strong especially in the mountainous or Jebeli areas, and pride, which comes with the territory, runs very deep. The country has embraced Islam since the early times of the holy message, but it does not fall within the dichotomy of Sunnis and Shias. Rather, it follows a milder form of the Ibadi religion that rejects warfare in the name of God and uses dignity and persuasion to get its point across. Furthermore, it has been home to migrant Hindus and -at one time- to thriving Jewish communities and has many churches, temples and Jewish landmarks especially the Tomb of Job located some 45 miles away from the port city of Salalah. The country is no democracy or parliamentary republic rather it is an absolute monarchy whose supreme sovereign, the Sultan of Oman Qaboos Bin Said Al Said, has reigned since 1970. However, the whimsical, capricious, despotic, erratic, unstable, shifting, and many other peculiarities -or defects- of monarchies from Burma to Buckingham, have been vividly absent or at least significantly tamed in this oasis of stability.

The Sultan of Oman deposed his father in 1970 in a bloodless coup, save for the father having reportedly shot himself in the foot. This fact, if at all true, would be both anecdotal and telling about a casualty-free removal of a sitting monarch. The deposed Sultan then spent the rest of his days not locked-up in a donjon but at the Dorchester Hotel, in London. The United Kingdom saw the previous ruler as impermeable to modernity and hermetically closed to the outside world and in part to their oil-exploration interests. They backed the son in his bid for power and became the armed force behind the throne, for decades.

The new Sultan’s first order of priority was ending the Dhofar Rebellion (1962 to 1979) by offering amnesty to all those who had fought against his father. He then integrated Dhofar into Oman ending a distinction that had exacerbated rifts and secessionist ambitions. With the help of the British corps of engineers he launched a reconstruction campaign in the most destitute areas building schools and hospitals and digging wells. These gestures of good will were nonetheless accompanied by a resolute will to fight the Adoo (or enemy) in the rebellious province. Rebels took orders from their political bases in Yemen, backed by Maoist China and the Soviet Union. The Sultan’s diplomatic maneuvering to recognize Oman as a full-member Arab State helped rein-in the territorial ambitions of neighbors, and denied the rebels official recognition, if not sanctuary. The harshly fought counterinsurgency was led by Omani Firqats trained and assisted by British officers, SAS elite force specialists, and the RAF, but also by the Imperial Iranian forces (under the Shah) and the Royal Jordanian troops (under King Hussein). More territory was won as more defectors from the rebels’ ranks joined the Sultan’ forces and were pardoned before serving under his banner.

Oman has been portrayed as a neutral country, and one that does not appear to be working in tandem with its Arab neighbors or partners. But the evidence points in the wrong direction. A bloody civil war is not a neutral business. When the going got tough Oman, and its ruler, fought for over a decade to quash the rebellion, unite the country and modernize the infrastructure. In fact, the asphalt roads that one sees in the remotest areas of Oman are not the result of a corrupt public works system.

The country is not really desert whilst being part of the Arabian Peninsula, with a terrain that offers some of the most astonishing beaches and coves that eyes could see. Less than few miles in-land and you can delight at the sight of proudly erected mountains and rugged terrains that stretch for miles on end. The country is not populated by a strictly Bedouin-like society but still camels are herded for labor as well as for commerce (especially for racing since the country produces the best kind ever). Tribal ties remain strong especially in the mountainous or Jebeli areas, and pride, which comes with the territory, runs very deep. The country has embraced Islam since the early times of the holy message, but it does not fall within the dichotomy of Sunnis and Shias. Rather, it follows a milder form of the Ibadi religion that rejects warfare in the name of God and uses dignity and persuasion to get its point across. Furthermore, it has been home to migrant Hindus and -at one time- to thriving Jewish communities and has many churches, temples and Jewish landmarks especially the Tomb of Job located some 45 miles away from the port city of Salalah. The country is no democracy or parliamentary republic rather it is an absolute monarchy whose supreme sovereign, the Sultan of Oman Qaboos Bin Said Al Said, has reigned since 1970. However, the whimsical, capricious, despotic, erratic, unstable, shifting, and many other peculiarities -or defects- of monarchies from Burma to Buckingham, have been vividly absent or at least significantly tamed in this oasis of stability.

The Sultan of Oman deposed his father in 1970 in a bloodless coup, save for the father having reportedly shot himself in the foot. This fact, if at all true, would be both anecdotal and telling about a casualty-free removal of a sitting monarch. The deposed Sultan then spent the rest of his days not locked-up in a donjon but at the Dorchester Hotel, in London. The United Kingdom saw the previous ruler as impermeable to modernity and hermetically closed to the outside world and in part to their oil-exploration interests. They backed the son in his bid for power and became the armed force behind the throne, for decades.

The new Sultan’s first order of priority was ending the Dhofar Rebellion (1962 to 1979) by offering amnesty to all those who had fought against his father. He then integrated Dhofar into Oman ending a distinction that had exacerbated rifts and secessionist ambitions. With the help of the British corps of engineers he launched a reconstruction campaign in the most destitute areas building schools and hospitals and digging wells. These gestures of good will were nonetheless accompanied by a resolute will to fight the Adoo (or enemy) in the rebellious province. Rebels took orders from their political bases in Yemen, backed by Maoist China and the Soviet Union. The Sultan’s diplomatic maneuvering to recognize Oman as a full-member Arab State helped rein-in the territorial ambitions of neighbors, and denied the rebels official recognition, if not sanctuary. The harshly fought counterinsurgency was led by Omani Firqats trained and assisted by British officers, SAS elite force specialists, and the RAF, but also by the Imperial Iranian forces (under the Shah) and the Royal Jordanian troops (under King Hussein). More territory was won as more defectors from the rebels’ ranks joined the Sultan’ forces and were pardoned before serving under his banner.

Oman has been portrayed as a neutral country, and one that does not appear to be working in tandem with its Arab neighbors or partners. But the evidence points in the wrong direction. A bloody civil war is not a neutral business. When the going got tough Oman, and its ruler, fought for over a decade to quash the rebellion, unite the country and modernize the infrastructure. In fact, the asphalt roads that one sees in the remotest areas of Oman are not the result of a corrupt public works system. It is meant to re-unite and maintain a once fractured country, fully connected. Going by the record, Oman has sided with the Palestinian cause against Israeli aggression and has voted with the majority of the Arab League on all critical decisions that pertain to preserving the sovereignty of the Arab nations. A combination of modest oil-riches and a discreet personality have led the Sultan to adopt a low profile (unlike the Shah or the despots of Libya, Syria, Iraq or Egypt). This semi-detached but wise image has served him well both domestically and internationally. When a sheik or a ruler is deposed in the Arab world, he seeks refuge in Oman not because the country is a sanctuary for renegades but because it offers a haven of security for one’s personal life, not necessarily one’s political views.

Under the Obama administration, Oman offered its mediation for the Iran Nuclear Agreement. Oman did not instigate the secret talks, it merely hosted them. Oman did not negotiate the clauses of the agreement, it simply assisted in keeping the negotiations ongoing. No specific rewards were sought, and none were offered by either the US and its Western allies, or by Iran for that matter. This reinforced the sterling role that the Sultan has played in preserving stability in the Gulf without claiming a material prize in return. Under the Trump administration, Oman has continued to work for peace on both the Palestinian-Israeli front and, the Arab-Iranian front. The historical visit of the Israeli PM just few weeks ago is another proof of a wise and discreet form of diplomacy deployed by a country that endeavors to stay out of the eye of the storm, but that remains firmly within the center of power-brokering.

Those who expect Oman to take sides are right, not wrong. Oman is on the side of stability without belligerence, peace without surrender, and prosperity without expansionism. A disappointment to some and a blessing to those few who seek to bring more wisdom and less agitation onto the political stage of the Arab world.

In 1973, on the 18th of November Qaboos stated: “Everyone in this nation is equal. There isn’t any difference between big and small, rich and poor; for equality mandates, everyone to be siblings under the umbrella of social justice.”  In 2018, that statement rings of truth in Oman as far as equality before justice is concerned. More ministers, civil servants and high-ranking officials have been tried for corruption and served jail time under this Sultan, than journalists under democratically-elect presidents. Turkey for instance, a NATO member since 1951 and an aspiring EU candidate, fares abysmally in comparison.

This is a proper criterion to assess the true development of a Middle East nation rather than by the wars it wages, or the GDP it generates, or the lavish Presidential Palaces it erects.