r/geography • u/Necessary_Wing799 Geography Enthusiast • 15d ago

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

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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....

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u/TundraForager 15d ago

From what my Omani friends have shown me, a more chill UAE/Saudi, pretty rich people, though they don’t really think it, less garish large developments like the Royal Opera house, beautiful place, lots of Subcontinental “migrant workers”. Omanis are pretty chill with life, pretty content with living in a non-representative monarchy 

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u/supapoopascoopa 14d ago

Absolute monarchy, sharia law, no free press or ability to criticize the government, torture, no due process rights

I give them credit for being peaceful but it only seems chill with respect to it’s neighbors.

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u/sitbar 14d ago

If you’ve lived there or spent any time there you would know that it is actually really chill there.

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u/EnvironmentalEnd6104 14d ago

It’s an autocratic monarchy. That’s like the opposite of chill. Next you guys are going to be talking up Thailand and Malaysia.

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u/leehoswald1963 14d ago edited 14d ago

I am half Thai and grew up in Bangkok till I left as a teen, and eventually moved to Canada. There’s a big difference between the people who make up a country and those who run it, and what the day to day life is and what interactions are like with the public.

I’ve lived through three military coups but I’d also describe the Thai people and Thai culture as chill. I suspect that’s the sentiment you’re missing.

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u/misirlou22 14d ago

I was in Thailand on vacation when a coup happened and our embassy recommended cutting our trip short, but I remember everyone acting like it was not a big deal.

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u/EnvironmentalEnd6104 14d ago

You can go to prison in Thailand for insulting the king. That’s not chill. That’s not a place people should go.

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u/leehoswald1963 14d ago

Im not telling people to visit. I only see my family once every few years cause I feel more comfortable in a free country as well, but I’m talking about the people and the culture being chill not the laws. This is a nuanced topic and not black and white.

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u/EnvironmentalEnd6104 14d ago

You live in a free country because you know it’s not chill. I will never understand refugees who pretend things weren’t bad the place they fled.

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u/leehoswald1963 14d ago

Perhaps it might be because you've never had the experience of being a refugee yourself. I can have good memories about the community I grew up in, while still acknowledging the problems that led me to leaving, problems that are not a reflection of the Thai people at large.

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u/EnvironmentalEnd6104 14d ago

I’m the child of Cuban refugees. Cuba is shit and I hope it burns to the ground.

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u/leehoswald1963 14d ago

I don't wish the same for my friends or family still living in Thailand, if the country burned to the ground they would have no home. I also hope the best for the people of Cuba, I don't want their home to burn to the ground either, we can disagree here.

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u/EnvironmentalEnd6104 14d ago

Fuck that! Fuck socialism, fuck monarchy, fuck fascism. If you’re not liberal democracy fuck you.

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u/leehoswald1963 14d ago edited 14d ago

You're having a really hard time seeing that the policies and laws that govern a country, are not always representative of their people. I support liberal democracy as well, I don't support fascism or monarchy, but I can still acknowledge the people who live under these regimes as human beings who don't deserve to have their country burned to the ground.

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u/GoodbyeLiberty 14d ago

Do you realize that the things you are saying are incredibly fascist?

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u/doorbell2021 14d ago

You seem to think that it's really simple to have a liberal democracy in a country that has no tradition of democracy. We've been at it for a couple hundred years in the US and are managing to fuck things up pretty well currently.

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u/Rianorix 1d ago

You can also go into prison from insulting anyone in Thailand if they are petty enough or rich enough to pursue legal action but that doesn't mean you will.

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u/EnvironmentalEnd6104 1d ago

That’s also wrong.

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u/Rianorix 1d ago

What's wrong with it?

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u/EnvironmentalEnd6104 1d ago

You can be charged with speech. That’s incredibly fucked up, dystopian even.

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u/Rianorix 1d ago

You can be charged from insulting people, learn the difference.

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u/EnvironmentalEnd6104 1d ago

Yeah. That’s a problem.

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u/sitbar 14d ago

Okay sure, but also let’s keep ignoring what Omanis and literally everyone else who comes to visit is saying and instead keep going with this weird scary version based on the fact that it’s a Muslim country

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u/OutsideFlat1579 14d ago

The atmosphere may be chill, the people relaxed and friendly, but the laws are not chill for everyone. If you want to make it about it being a Muslim country, that’s on you. 

Homosexuality is illegal in Oman, but they don’t have the death penalty for “sodomy” like they do in Uganda, which is Christian. Are we allowed to make comments on Uganda not being chill? Because it’s not Muslim. 

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u/EnvironmentalEnd6104 14d ago

Is it not an autocratic monarchy it’s rampant human rights violations?

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u/Physical-Arrival-868 14d ago

The superiority complex is showing my guy.

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u/EnvironmentalEnd6104 14d ago

Liberal democracies are objectively superior.

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u/Physical-Arrival-868 14d ago

Alright pal, you can believe what you want, I don't think there needs to be a debate about which government is better. I will tell you though, if you judge an entire country based on its governance style you risk being ignorant, there are dictatorships that treat their people better than liberal democracies, and democracies that are more far sighted than dictatorships. Judging a country by its governance structure is a bit childish and all it does is show the world that you have never really traveled outside of a small handful of countries

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u/EnvironmentalEnd6104 14d ago

You don’t believe liberal democracies are superior? Well let’s play a game. France or Iran? Portugal or Afghanistan? Poland or Saudi Arabia? Mexico or North Korea? In which of these countries would you prefer to live?

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u/Physical-Arrival-868 14d ago

I'd rather live in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, or Indonesia than Israel, the United States, or the United Kingdom. But you are completely sidestepping my point, please engage with what I told you

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u/IHatePeople79 14d ago

You do realize Saudi Arabia still executed gay people, right?

I doubt you would be saying this stuff if you were a woman (before you come at me I’m not defending liberal democracies, I have plenty of criticisms for them too).

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u/Physical-Arrival-868 14d ago

And Americans shoot children, I have criticisms of many countries, but I know my life would be better in Saudi Arabia than it would be in the US

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u/IHatePeople79 14d ago

Because you are a straight man (and not an atheist, as I have inferred).

Not saying the US is good for women (it’s not at all), but you’ve got to recognize that these countries are only good for you because of your gender, sexuality, and religion.

That’s all I have to say.

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u/Physical-Arrival-868 14d ago

Who said I was straight lol, I'm bi, I'm spiritual, I follow my own religious beliefs but heavily influenced by islam and Buddhism. I think a lot of countries have room to become more equitable, but when it comes to my calculations for where I would rather live I value some things over others. For example, I don't mind not sleeping with guys if it means I have free healthcare and a good standard of living. When it comes to religion, I personally see religion is a very personal thing, I like to practice my faith in my own home, I recognize not everybody wants to do so but I don't think that limitation means your life in Saudi Arabia would be bad. I can tell you very clearly that in Arab countries, you won't be attacked for being Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, or Hindu, simply because hate crimes are nearly non-existent in our countries. In the US while I can legally be a Muslim and practice my faith, I am more likely to face discrimination than a Christian would in Saudi Arabia or Oman, and this comes from experience and talking to people that have visited the country.

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u/EnvironmentalEnd6104 14d ago

Lmao. I bet you would as you comfortably write that from your western nation.

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u/Physical-Arrival-868 14d ago

I'm just here for my degree, I'm planning to go back to Oman in a couple of months as I like living in a country that doesn't give any idiot a gun, and doesn't constantly smell like weed and shit, and where I don't have to worry about healthcare, and where the food is less than $10 for a full meal! :D you're talking to the wrong person buddy, I can't wait to go back to my own country :) come visit I think you would actually change your mind

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u/EnvironmentalEnd6104 14d ago

Universities in Oman not good enough? Had to use liberal democratic education systems. Lmao.

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u/Physical-Arrival-868 14d ago

I'm tryna do my PhD in China, what does that tell you lol.

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u/GoodbyeLiberty 14d ago

"I know that I've just insulted your country that I know nothing about, and that my country destabilized your entire region of the world in the name of liberal democracy, but how dare you not agree that we're the best?!"

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u/Physical-Arrival-868 14d ago

Hahaha spot on, this has been the argument the non-western world has been having with the western world for a century now 😂😂😂

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u/kuledihabe4976 14d ago

why didn't you study in Oman? it's better than liberal democracies afterall

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u/Physical-Arrival-868 14d ago

Omans is still developing, most of the universities are focused on engineering studies. I wanted to study international affairs, so I went abroad. Also if you look at my comments my entire point is that one isn't better than the other, and looking at a country's governance structure as a way to judge a country is ignorant. I am not saying Oman is better than liberal democracies, I'm saying liberal democracies are not objectively better than everything else, it's a case by case basis type of thing. Don't let this idiot drag you into his point 😂

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u/SvenderBender 10d ago

Yea, evidently liberal democracies are doing great these days. The middle class is thriving, everyone has equal rights, there is no crushing debt and there are certainly no fascists in power…

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u/EnvironmentalEnd6104 10d ago

Significantly better than autocratic regimes yeah.

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u/Ill-Bison-8057 14d ago

Liberal democracies objectively are better. Oman is one of the better autocracies and yet homosexuality remains illegal and there are still blasphemy laws.

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u/Physical-Arrival-868 14d ago

That's your opinion and while I disagree I'll respect it. Not really in the mood to argue I urge you to look at the homosexuality laws in Oman, you need like three witnesses that see you in the act. It is intentionally impossible to enforce as a way to placate the tremendously conservative population while not cracking down on gay people. And I for one am fully ok with blasphemy laws, we are a Muslim country where people take their religion seriously, if you plan to blatantly disrespect that religion to aggravate people that should be punished. You can love liberal democracy and I hope you do, just don't force it on people that have consistently rejected it. That is your way of life, not ours.