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Behind the revolts

By Amir Taheri

Last Updated: 2:06 AM, March 7, 2011

Posted: 10:22 PM, March 6, 2011

Comments: 0
headshotAmir Taheri

A Week ago, if anyone had asked me to name one Arab country that might remain unaffected by the current wave of revolts I would have said: Oman. Yet now it, too has been shaken by uprisings, from Salalah in the south to the capital Muscat to Nizwah in the north.

Occasional soccer matches aside, Omanis had never gathered together in such numbers. To see them march in their thousands against the regime was truly historic. What happened?

Sources in Washington tell me that the Obama administration's experts have "identified" the causes of the Arab revolt. But their diagnosis amounts to a rehash of old clichés about poverty, Islam and hostility toward Israel and America -- none of which applies to Oman.

"Simmering
Reuters
Simmering sultanate: Never before roused, Omanis like these protesters in Sohar have joined the revolt for political reform.

Occupying a narrow strip at one end of the Arabian Peninsula, the sultanate has slumbered since the 19th century, when the British turned it into a protectorate.

With a population of 2 million, it doesn't have big cities, like Cairo or even Libya's Benghazi, where mass poverty supposedly breeds rebellion. Compared to Egyptians or Yemenis, most Omanis could be described as well to do.

Islam? A majority of Omanis are Ibadhis, espousing a moderate version of Islam regarded by mainstream sects as heretical. Just 1 percent of Muslims, Ibadhis are always anxious to keep religion out of politics.

Nor does hostility toward America and Israel apply. Oman has hosted big US air and naval bases since the '70s. From the Mussandam Peninsula, America keeps an eye on the Hormuz Strait, the world's principal oil route. From the Omani island of Mussandam, it ensures freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean.

As for hating the Jewish state, Oman is one of the few Arab countries to have welcomed Israeli personalities, among them Shimon Peres, and to allow Israe



    
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