How Modern Arabia is Changing the World for Good

Gulf

The New

How Modern Arabia is Changing the World for Good

Edmund OSullivan

Gulf

The New

Published by Motivate Publishing Dubai: PO Box 2331, Dubai, UAE Tel: (+971 4) 282 4060; fax: (+971 4) 282 7898 e-mail: books@motivate.ae www.booksarabia.com Office 508, Building No 8, Dubai Media City, Dubai, UAE Tel: (+971 4) 390 3550; fax: (+971 4) 390 4845 Abu Dhabi: PO Box 43072, Abu Dhabi, UAE Tel: (+971 2) 677 2005; fax: (+971 2) 677 0124 London: Acre House, 11/15 William Road, London NW1 3ER e-mail: motivateuk@motivate.ae Directors: Obaid Humaid Al Tayer and Ian Fairservice David Steele Albert Harvey Pincis Moushumi Nandy Zelda Pinto Fredrick Dittlau Cithadel Francisco Charlie Banalo

Consultant Editor: Production Editor: Deputy Editor: Assistant Editor: Senior Art Director: Senior Designer: Designer:

General Manager Books: Jonathan Griffiths Motivate Publishing and Edmund OSullivan 2008
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ISBN: 978 1 86063 229 7 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Printed by Rashid Printing Press, Ajman, UAE

CONTENTS
Preface 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rise of the New Gulf Civilization In the Kingdom Kuwait and the Feminine Mystique Making a New Eden in Bahrain Getting Rich Quickly in Qatar The Last Arabian Sultanate The UAE and the New Gulf Chronology of Arabia Index 1 17 108 162 186 206 224 250 318 335

For Justin Gibbons and Charlotte Thompson

C H A PTE R 1

RISE OF THE NEW GULF CIVILIZATION

This story starts with an ending. It was the afternoon of Wednesday November 3, 2004. Leaders of the Islamic World had gathered to honour Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the United Arab Emir ates (UAE) since it was founded; Sheikh Zayeds death had been an nounced the day before. With the shadows lengthening, they assembled in Abu Dhabis main mosque before a wooden coffin. It contained Sheikh Zayeds body, wrapped in the flag of the federation he created. The mourners were greeted by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nah yan, pilot son of the late ruler, whod been named Abu Dhabis new crown prince. General Musharraf, president of Pakistan, was among the first to ar rive, followed by President Karzai. (The next day, Karzai was elected president of Afghanistan after the first democratic polls in its history.) Abdelaziz Bouteflika, president of Algeria, pressed into the front row on Karzais right. Yemens President Saleh, another former general and a 1960s republican rebel, was followed by King Abdullah of Jor dan, the halfBritish son of the late King Hussein. Sultan Qaboos, Ruler of Oman since 1970, joined the throng. Hurrying in last was Bashar Al Asad, an opthalmologist who succeeded his father Hafiz as Syrian president in 2000. Sheikh Sayed Ali Al Hashemi, Sheikh Zayeds religious affairs advi ser, led the prayers. Standing with him before the coffin was the ruler of Ras alKhaimah, Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, the old est of the seven rulers of the UAE. Sheikh Saqrs dark, full beard be lied the fact that he was then 87 and had been ruler since 1948. He was now the final survivor of the UAEs founders. Facing the coffin was Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the mastermind be hind Dubais drive to become a global city, who was to succeed his brother, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, as vicePresident and prime minister of the UAE and the emirates ruler 14 months later. Qatars crown prince, Sheikh Tameem bin Hamad Al Thani, repre senting what will soon be the richest country on earth, stood close by. Saudi Arabias Prince Abdullah bin Abdelaziz Al Saud, crown prince

18 THE NEW GULF

RISE OF THE NEW GULF CIVILIZATION

19

since 1982, was at the centre of the front row. (The following August, he became the Saudi king and ruler of the worlds biggest oil exporter and guardian of Islams holiest sites.) To Prince Abdullahs left was Bahrains King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who succeeded his father in 1999 and reintroduced parliament and elections. On Abdullahs right was the principal mourner, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who had succeeded his venerated father as ruler of Abu Dhabi. That eve ning, he was to be elected president of the UAE by the six other UAE rulers. His inheritance is the worlds fifth greatest petroleum reserve and more than US$500 billion worth of financial assets. Next to King Hamad, Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al Sabah represented the ailing emir Sheikh Jaber Al Sabah, who was too ill to attend and was to die in January 2006. Sheikh Sabah succeeded. Beside the future emir was Ghazi Al Yawar, then interim president of Iraq. Before Al Yawar, the presidency had been held for almost 24 years by Saddam Hussein who that day sat in a Baghdad prison. Al Hashemi began the Islamic prayers for the dead. Allahu Akbar, he intoned four times. Assalaamu alaikum. The mourners repeated the words. The funeral service was over. Sheikh Zayeds family carried the coffin to a waiting vehicle. The funeral cortege slipped through silent streets to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque. On its east side, a grave had been prepared and Sheikh Zayeds body was tenderly laid in its final resting place. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed threw off his headdress and step ped into the grave to arrange his fathers body as Islam required. Su dans President Omar Al Bashir and Iyad Allawi, then interim prime minister of Iraq, joined the group around the grave. The tieless Shiite Iranian vicepresident, Dr Mohammed Reza Aref, and Lebanons Chris tian President, Emile Lahoud, circulated discreetly. Every government in the Islamic World was represented. That night, emissaries from everywhere else arrived to salute Sheikh Khalifa. But the funeral was principally an Arabian occasion. When Sheikh Zayed was born, the peninsula was unrecognizably different. It had no oil, the people were poor and Britain controlled most of the Middle East. Arabias map had radically changed during Sheikh Zayeds long life. But Arabians of all ages knew the austere fu neral rites of an honoured leader. So, with the sun setting swiftly, an era ended. It was witnessed by men controlling the destiny of almost 400 mil lion people, a region stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea, the future of Islam and most of the worlds oil reserves. At that moment, more than 6,000 miles to the east, America was waking to the news that President George W Bush, conqueror of the Taliban and Saddam Hussein, had defeated Senator John Kerry in the race for the White House. Where would Arabia go now?

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The people of Arabia Gulf nationals are diverse. Some are descended from the peninsulas original inhabitants who were among the first humans. These people were supplemented by those whose ancestors were immigrants, invad ers, pilgrims, traders, exiles, prisoners and slaves. They come in every size and colour. Most speak Arabic, a great language, but not an old one. It emerged around the 4th century of the Christian era as the re sult of a fusion between older Semitic tongues and Aramaic, the lan guage Jesus spoke. In Arabian tradition, the peninsulas original people are descended from Adam and Eve, the first humans God created, according to Islam, Christianity and Judaism, to live in the Garden of Eden. Anthropolo gists say theres a difference between the people who came from north Arabia and those from the south. In the north, where desert prevailed, society was shaped by migrating tribes and sedentary oasis dwellers. In the south, regular rain allowed the development of villages and towns that produced a different social structure. It has even bequeathed phys ical differences. The people of the desert are called Bedouin, a French word derived from Bedu which is Arabic for without. In Arabia, Bedouin tribes re main a vital part of modern society. Arabian tribes began as groups bound by kinship. The tribes expanded through marriage and alliance into confederations that sometimes numbered thousands of individu als. No borders divided one from another. But each Arabian waterhole and wadi was controlled by a tribal group and in old Arabia feuding over water and grazing was endemic. Tribes are patriarchal, though political power ran through the wom ens side in preIslamic Arabia. A tribal leader, or sheikh, normally in herits his status from his father. But tribes are egalitarian. The leader must protect its members and be open to their views. A sheikh who be trays can be deposed. Leaders know their position depends on ensur ing wealth is distributed fairly, though absolute equality is considered impractical and subversive to Gods order. Womens influence can be decisive. Through Arabian history, marriage has been a means of form ing alliances. The great tribes have supplied most modern Arabian leaders. De scendants of the Shammar confederation of central and northern Arabia include Saudi Arabias King Abdullah on his mothers side. Their old rivals, whose lands extended from northcentral Arabia to Kuwait, are the Anaizah confederation. The Al Saud and the ruling families of Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar are all descended from the Anai zah. The greatest confederation of the Arabian southeast is the Bani Yas (the children of Yas). It provides the leading families of Abu Dha bi, including the Al Nahyan, and the Al Maktoum of Dubai. The Al

RISE OF THE NEW GULF CIVILIZATION

21

Qawasim (Al Qassimi in the singular) produced the ruling families of Ras alKhaimah and Sharjah in the UAE. The principal exception is the governing Al Bu Said family of Oman, which is not of Bedouin de scent. It traces its origins to south Arabias first Muslim converts. Most celebrated Arabian tribes are subsets of the great confedera tions. The Murrah, famous for their desert tracking ability, are consi dered the purest of Arabian Bedouin. The Saar, who once ranged along the southern edges of the Empty Quarter, are also renowned trackers. The Saars great rivals were the Al Rashid (Al Rawashid) who domi nated the southern fringes of the Empty Quarter. The Duru dominated the area between the east of the Empty Quarter and the Hajar Moun tains of southeast Arabia. The Al Manasir (Al Mansouri), one of the great tribes of Abu Dhabi, are found between the base of the Qatar Peninsula and the lands of Abu Dhabi. South of this and stretching deep into the Empty Quarter are the traditional lands of the Awamir (Al Amiri), historic rivals of the Al Rashid. The northeast of the Empty Quarter is the land of the Al Dawasir (Al Dossary), a people who settled in the wadi that bears their name, but who have since spread widely across eastern Arabia. The Al Ghamdi, one of the largest of Saudi Arabias tribal groups, originate in the kingdoms south. The Ajman, rivals of the Al Saud, are found in the kingdoms Eastern Province as are the Bani Khalid, once the mas ters of northeastern Arabia, the Al Jabri, the Bani Hajir and the Awazim. The Al Mutair (Al Mutairi) live mainly in northeast Arabia. Arabian tradition says that the people of the north are descended from Nizar bin Majid bin Adnan, one of Ismails sons and Abrahams grandson. Those of the south are said to descend from Qahtan, one of Noahs sons. Adnani tribes are also known as Nizari. The Qahtani are alternatively called Yamani. In the area now comprising the UAE and northern Oman, a civil war in the 18th century led to the emergence of two opposing confederations roughly corresponding to the northern Adnani/Nizari Arabs and southern Qahtani/Yamani Arabs. In the war, Nizari Arabs took the name of the Bani Ghafir, the tribe of the leader of that confederation. Qahtanis were called the Hinawi after the Bani Hina, the leading tribe of that section. Ghafiri tribes include the Al Qassimi, the Al Nuaimi (the ruling fam ily of Ajman in the UAE) and some of the tribes of the Buraimi Oasis, the Musandam Peninsula, Dibba and Umm alQaiwain. Hinawi tribes include the Bani Yas, the Awair, the Afar, the Manasir, the Al Dhaheri of Al Ain and the Sharqiyin (Al Sharqi) ruling family of Fujairah. In periods of tension, the Ghafiri and Hinawi divide has been significant. It is dormant at present. Omans Musandam Peninsula is home to the Shihu, recognizable by the small, tomahawklike hatchet its men carry or have tucked in their belts.

22 THE NEW GULF

The tribal arrangements are complex in Arabias rugged southwest. The Al Kathir are prominent in Omans Dhofar province and Wadi Hadhramaut in Yemen. Some speak the Jabali (mountain) language, which comprises four preArabic tongues believed to be similar to the language of the ancient kingdom that dominated Yemen almost 2,000 years ago. The Al Kathiris had an independent sultanate in what was South Yemen before British withdrawal in 1967. The Al Qara, which comprises more than 10 clans, is the largest tribe in Omans Jebel Dhofar region. Many speak Jabali. The Al Shahra, who do not have a tribal structure, are scattered among the Al Qara lands and are found on the Kuria Muria (Al Hallaniyat) Islands off the Omani coast. The Al Mahra live on both sides of the OmanYemen border. The highlands of north and central Yemen are dominated by two confederations: the Hashid and the Bakil. Both trace their origins to preIslamic times and both are predominantly Zaydi, a Shiite sect found mainly in southwest Arabia. The Hashid have fewer constituent tribes and have played a more significant role in recent Yemeni history. Ali Abdullah Saleh, president of Yemen since 1990 and of North Yemen for 12 years before that, is a member of the Al Ahmar family thats connected to the clan that has provided the paramount sheikhs of the hashid for generations. The Bakil, with more divisions that have fought over the title of paramount sheikh, believe Yemens government is domi nated by the Hashid. Bakil tribes may have dallied with Al Qaeda and some believe its members were involved in the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Aden harbour. In southwest Saudi Arabia, the Al Qathani are the most notable tribal grouping. The Al Yam, some of whom are Ismailis or Zaydis, are numerous around Najran. In the west of Arabia, the great tribes are the Al Utaiba; the Bani Harb; the Juhaina, traditionally a clan of watch men and guides; the Billi, who are numerous in the northwest; the Mut tar and the Bani Atiya. Settled tribes include the Solaib, who in the past were tinkers, hunters and medicinemen; the Agail, a brotherhood of cameldealers and guides; the Bani Saad, who were farmers; and the Bani Salem, who traditionally lived north of Rabigh and around Yan bu. The Bani Thaqit come from Taif, south of Jeddah. In the far northwest, the Huweitat and Ruwallah once roamed from Syria to northern Saudi Arabia. Distinguished families of tribal descent settled in Arabian towns. The Al Zamil were the feudal lords of Unaizah in the central Saudi Arabian province of Qassim. The Olayan family, which is descended from the Shammar confederation, held a similar position in Buraidah, also in Qassim. The prominent Al Turki business family is descended from the Bani Khaled, the dominant tribe of eastern Arabia until the rise of the Al Saud.