Oman - a country rarely spoken about. What's happening there?

[u/Necessary_Wing799]

Oman is located in a area we heat about a lot for an array of reasons - there are many famous and newsworthy spots close by from dubai to Doha to Iran and Yemen...... what goes on in Oman? Let us know how life is here and any relevant info on its current state....

[u/etzel1200]

TFW you’re a mostly stable and successful Arab Muslim country and the world basically forgets you exist because of it.

[u/GrovesNL → u/etzel1200]

Muslim

Ibadi is at least a little unique to Oman. I don't know how they differ from Sunni or Shia, but it is something that differentiates them from other Arab Muslim countries.

All I know is they have a different religion colour shade on EUIV haha.

[u/Draig_werdd → u/GrovesNL]

The original split was due to how to decide the successor to Muhammad, in the end there was a three way split. The future Sunni went for one of the companions of Muhammad while the Shia ( shīʿat ʿAlī = followers of Ali), went with Ali (cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad). A third group, Kharijites appeared a bit later claiming that the successor should be chosen by God and could be any Muslim. They were quite aggressive and fundamentalist, killing for example Ali, and having several violent revolts until they were eventually mostly eliminated during the Abbasid period. They considered other Muslims as pagans so nobody liked them. Only one group survived, the only one that was more moderate, the current Ibadis.

Since the original split a lot of differences have accumulated between the three branches, but in general Ibadi's are closer to Sunnis. The main differences versus Sunni are that they believe that the Quran was created by God at some point not as always existing. They also still have the original view that anybody could be the leader of Muslims, it does not have to be hereditary.

[u/TelecomVsOTT → u/Draig_werdd]

They also still have the original view that anybody could be the leader of Muslims, it does not have to be hereditary.

Rich of them to believe that. In the meanwhile Oman's rulers are hereditary yet they don't bat an eye.

[u/hirst → u/TelecomVsOTT]

The old sultan (silver daddy, 10/10 beard) couped his father in the 60s and then led Oman to prosperity in the modern era so yeah I guess it’s hereditary but not as cut and dry as you portray here

[u/totallynotapsycho42 → u/TelecomVsOTT]

Shuas believe in hereditary succession yet the most powerful shia state is a reupublic.

[u/Draig_werdd → u/totallynotapsycho42]

The hereditary succession only applies to the Imam, not secular ruler. Most Shia, including the majority group in Iran, believe the current Imam is in "hiding", so not available to lead the state.

[u/Draig_werdd → u/TelecomVsOTT]

Well, the rule is for the leader of all Muslim, the ruler of Oman does not claim that role, so it's fine.

[u/jamnin94 → u/GrovesNL]

I just looked it up and Oman is apparently 45% Ibadi Muslim which is a news to me. I didn’t even know about the Ibadi sect until just now. Thanks for the new info internet stranger!

[u/DaddyCatALSO → u/GrovesNL]

They evolved form the old Kharijites, who, initially supporters of Ali, when he agreed to let th e matter be decided another way, rejected the entire idea of a caliphate. I *think* Ibadi believe everyone else is in error but are content to let said evrybody else go their ways

[u/PitotTea → u/GrovesNL]

I just want to add that I too have learned random facts from EUIV (and CKII) lol. I love that this is your source and based on other replies seems to have merit to it!

[u/GrovesNL → u/PitotTea]

I won't admit how much I learned, or at least started learning about from EUIV lol. If I see religions, cultures, nations on there that I haven't heard of before I've gone on some rabbitholes reading about them afterwards!

Despite maybe some historical inaccuracies, it's at least a great launchpad for learning about geography and demographics!

[u/JagmeetSingh2 → u/GrovesNL]

>Ibadi is at least a little unique to Oman. I don't know how they differ from Sunni or Shia, but it is something that differentiates them from other Arab Muslim countries.

The ibaadiyah are a sub sect of the khawaarij, though they don't like when you bring up that connection

[u/JonDCafLikeTheDrink → u/GrovesNL]

Ibadis are effectively descended from Kharijites, who were extremists in the idea that the Caliph shouldn't be someone who is from the Quraysh tribe (the tribe the Prophet Muhammad was born into), which is an idea historically associated with Sunnis, and it shouldn't be someone who is a direct descendent of Ali Ibn Abu Talib (the Prophet's SILand first cousin), which is what the Shia believe. Instead, they believed that it belonged to the one who was the most competent.

There were other reasons why the Kharijites were extremists, not all were good BTW. But my experience with Ibadis has been positive.

[u/ElCoyo → u/GrovesNL]

Hello there. Fellow map painter