Sultan Qaboos of Oman: The Peacemaker in the Middle East Published on July 23, 2019
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Ali Mansouri Writer, Researcher, Consultant
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(On the occasion of the 49th anniversary of the blessed Renaissance Day in Oman, we salute His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos of Oman and the Omani people wishing them more progress and prosperity.) The Middle East has long been regarded as one of the most troubled, dangerous, and turbulent regions in the world. There are too many wars, too many conflicts, too many destructive ideologies, too much killing, and too much human misery. Although it is a region of vital importance to the world economy and to international peace and security, there are very high levels of corruption and unemployment which make it more dangerous and turbulent. The peoples of the Middle East like all the peoples of the world are not interested in wars and conflicts. They inspire to live a decent human life away from destruction and misery. “We all recognize that there can be no business, no trade, no education, no justice – nothing at all without peace on Earth. I have a personal experience of living a miserable life during the time of war in Iraq—during the first Gulf War and the second Gulf War. I strongly believe that wars solve no problem at all; they just bring destruction and miseries of all sorts.” (Read my article: “Sultan Qaboos of Oman for Nobel Peace Prize” published on LinkedIn on April 29, 2016). But unfortunately, there are few “doves” and too many “hawks”. There is an unlimited number of warlords, warmongers, corrupt politicians and wicked businessmen who invest their money in wars and conflicts and are prepared to collaborate with the Devil. There are a few exceptions. There are some leaders who genuinely believe in peace and peacemaking for the sake of the region and the world. His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos of Oman is one of these exceptions. Born in Salalah, Oman on 18 November 1940, he is now over 78. The years of his age have accumulated his wisdom, sound judgment and continuous desire for peace and stability.
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His Majesty accessed the throne of Oman after his father on 23rd July 1970 on what has been rightly termed the Renaissance Day. His efforts in modernizing Oman which was largely an underdeveloped, uneducated, desert country have been relentless and against all the odds. When His Majesty came to the throne, there was a rebellion in the southern part of the country. The rebellion lasted 10 years (1965-1975). With his wisdom and his philosophy of peace, His Majesty was able to put an end to the rebellion and was able to establish peace for his countrymen. He did not seek revenge on those who led the rebellion nor those who took part in it. Peace for all citizens and residents has always been his ambition and mission. He is now the longest-serving ruler in the Middle East and the Arab World. “After taking power, Qaboos invested in large-scale infrastructure projects, transforming Oman into a modern functional state. In 1996, he created a new constitution that guaranteed press freedom and promised there would be "no discrimination amongst [people] on the ground of gender, origin, color, language, religion, sect, domicile, or social status." (Mirren Gidda, July 20, 2019, Newsweek). “When people in the Sultanate demonstrated in early 2011 to protest unemployment and corruption in the government, Qaboos did not hesitate to admit his responsibilities for the shortcomings. In fact, his response to the uprisings in Oman pacified protesters and secured stability in the country.” (Joseph A. Kechichian, November 18, 2015, Gulf News ) What is remarkable of Sultan Qaboos’s foreign policy choices is the overarching quest for peace for all the peoples of the region and the world. “One U.S. official said Oman, which borders Yemen and Saudi Arabia and sits across from Iran on the Strait of Hormuz, is seen as a “Switzerland of the Middle East.” Obviously, this is a loose comparison, but when it comes to being a potentially neutral peacemaker on the region’s very complicated chessboard, Oman seems eager to play that role,” the official told The Washington Times on the condition of anonymity.” (Guy Taylor, April 9, 2015, The Washington Times) “Oman’s ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, is one of the only Arab monarchs with close ties to Iran’s Islamic Republic. His international image is that of a measured statesman who stays out of regional conflicts – a trusted mediator who made possible the impossible in 2013 by hosting
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secret U.S.-Iran talks that led to the landmark nuclear agreement.” (Kambiz Fattahi, September 27, 2018, Wilson Center) “In the eyes of Oman’s leader, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, words have been his weapons of choice. Sultan Qaboos has been at the forefront of promoting peaceful negotiations in many recent conflicts. During the heated nuclear negotiations between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran, Sultan Qaboos opened his country as an impartial host for mediation, negotiating a nuclear agreement between Washington and Tehran in November of 2013.” “Although the task seems daunting, as long as Sultan Qaboos rules Oman, the country will, more likely than not, continue as a peacemaker and regional diplomat.” (Barton Dempsey, May 6, 2016, Providence). “Oman has tried to cut itself off as much as possible from these two troubled neighbors. So far, it has managed to avoid being sucked into the sort of conflict that has blighted nearly every other country in the Middle East. Oman has managed to stay out of disputes, maintaining good relationships with Western allies and other Middle Eastern countries, including Iran. And it has managed to fend off threats from ISIS and other extremist groups. The stability of Oman has sometimes helped Qaboos act as a broker between opposing sides. Beginning in 2012, the country secretly hosted both Iran and the U.S. in its capital, Muscat, several times. When the Iran nuclear agreement, intended to block that country from building a nuclear weapon, was finally implemented in January 2016, many foreign policy experts said Oman had helped persuade the two sides to reach a deal.” (Mirren Gidda, July 20, 2019, Newsweek) Taking into account the continuous tensions in the Middle East, there seems to be no doubt that Oman will continue to act as a regional diplomat and play a great role as a peace broker for the sake of all the world. “In a region that is marked by bitter geopolitical rivalries, Sultan Qaboos stands out as a rare statesman, one who never hesitates to play peacemaker.” (September 12, 2017, Catch News, India) It is of paramount importance to give credit to His majesty’s policies and philosophy of peace. There is an urgent need to celebrate this philosophy and educate the Omanis, especially the Page 4 of 6
young generation, on its worth and its value for Oman and the world. The start then is to celebrate the anniversary of the Renaissance Day in educational institutions and educate the students on the history and philosophy of His Majesty’s efforts and policies towards achieving peace inside and outside Oman. To ignore the anniversary and force the students to take exams on the 23rd July as Abood Al-Sawafi (former VC), Hamed Al-Hajri (Assistant VC), and Abdullah Al-Harthy (Chairman of the Board of Directors) do at A’Sharqiyah University is really disgusting and unpatriotic. One day, in an official meeting we held at A’Sharqiyah University to discuss the final exams, I raised this point and told Abood Al-Sawafi and the meeting that the students of the Language Center and Foundation Program would like to celebrate the anniversary as they used to do before Abood Al-Sawafi and Hamed Al-Hajri joined the University, Abood AlSawafi got angry and asked me not to raise this point again! He said, “It is none of your business.” So, for Abood Al-Sawafi, it was none of my business to talk about exams and the suitable times for the students to take these exams though I was the Director of the Language Center and Foundation Program and was directly in charge of the teaching, tests, and exams for more than two thousand students at A’Sharqiyah University! But it was his own business to cancel the celebrations of the students on this great occasion and force our students to take the final exam in violation of all Omani laws, regulations, and aspirations for peace. This is the sort of ungrateful people we may find in higher education in Oman. They do not want to recognize His Majesty’s philosophy of peace and do not want anyone to promote it. The other senior managers who attended the meeting were: Hamed Al-Hajri (Assistant VC), The Registrar, The Director of the Student Affairs, and Abood Al-Sawafi’s brother-in-law who was the Director of the Vice Chancellor’s Office. All of them are cowards and hypocrites. They did not say a word against Abood Al-Sawafi’s nonsense and conspiracies against the students and the University. It is really alarming to see in Oman some wicked, “influential” people who do not believe in peace and are prepared to smash anyone who disagrees with them or stand on their way of fraud, corruption, and thievery. These wicked people like Abood Al-Sawafi (former VC), Hamed AlHajri (Assistant VC), and Abdullah Al-Harthy (Chairman of the Board of Directors) at A’Sharqiyah University in Oman constitute a serious danger to peace and stability inside and outside Oman. We wish His Majesty a long life, but he is not immortal. There is a real fear that such wicked people inside Oman will take over after His Majesty is gone and adopt a very Page 5 of 6
dangerous direction for wars and conflicts as we have seen in other countries in the Middle East. It is really essential for peace and stability in Oman and the world that such wicked businessmen and warlords be exposed and stopped before it is too late. The Ministry of Higher Education and all other authorities in Oman are strongly advised to stop this dangerous trend at A’Sharqiyah University. Finally, I would like to suggest that a center or an institute be established in Oman to be dedicated to His Majesty’s philosophy and approach to peace and stability in the Middle East and the world. The mission of the institute is to undertake researches, studies, tasks, and fieldwork to promote peace and stability for all human beings. The leaders in the region and the world may disagree with His Majesty on this point or that, but they cannot disagree with his philosophy of peace which has won His Majesty great admiration and respect and has established him an inspiring peacemaker in the Middle East. Whenever there are a new tension and a new threat to peace in the region, most people look to Oman and His Majesty for inspiration and hope of finding a solution. To all those leaders who find it too difficult for them to make peace in the Middle East, I would like to say to them: Leave it to Sultan Qaboos to do it for you!
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