ISLAM and MUSLIMS IN OMAN
General Information
Sultanate of Oman
National name: Saltanat Uman
Total area: 82,031 sq mi (212,460 sq km)1
Population (2007 est.): 3,204,897
Capital (2003 est.): Muscat, 797,000 (metro. area), 54,800 (city proper)
Monetary unit: Omani rial
Languages: Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects
Ethnicity/race: Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African
Religions: Islam: Ibadhi 75%, Sunni, Shi'a; Hindu
Literacy rate: 81.4% (2003 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $61.61 billion; per capita $24,000. Real growth rate: 6.4%. Inflation: 5.5%.
Oman is a 1,000-mile-long (1,700-km) coastal plain at the southeast tip of the Arabian Peninsula lying on the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. The country is the size of Kansas.
Arabs migrated to Oman from the 9th century B.C. onward, and conversion to Islam occurred in the 7th century A.D. Muscat, the capital of the geographical area known as Oman, was occupied by the Portuguese from 1508 to 1648. Then it fell to Ottoman Turks, but in 1741 Ahmad ibn Sa'id forced them out. The descendants of Sultan Ahmad rule Oman today.
Ahmad expanded his empire to East Africa, and for a time the Omani capital was in Zanzibar. After 1861, however, Zanzibar fell from Omani control.
The sultans and imams of Oman clashed continuously throughout the 20th century until 1959, when the last Ibadi imam was evicted from the country. In a palace coup on July 23, 1970, the sultan, Sa'id bin Taimur, who had ruled since 1932, was overthrown by his son, Qabus ibn Sa'id, who promised to establish a modern government and use newfound oil wealth to aid the people of this very isolated state. Oman joined the Arab League and the United Nations in 1971.
Islamic History and Muslims
On the advent of Islam, the faith reached Oman within Muhammad's lifetime. The conversion of Omanis is usually ascribed to Amr ibn al-As, who visited the region. By the middle of the eighth century AD, Omanis were practicing a unique sect of the faith, Ibadhism, which remains a majority sect only in Oman. Ibadhism has been characterized as "moderate conservatism," with tenets that are a mixture of both austerity and peace.
The majority of Omanis are Ibadhi Muslims, followers of Abd Allah ibn Ibad.
Approximately 25 percent are Sunni Muslims and live primarily in Sur and the
surrounding area and in Dhofar. They form the largest non-Ibadi minority. The
Shi'a minority live along Al Batinah and Muscat coasts. This minority includes
the Al-Lawatis, the Bahranis of Bahrain descent, and the Ajam, of vague origin
but generally considered to originate in Iran.
Ibadism is an outgrowth of the Kharijites movement, a variant form of Islam
practiced by descendants of a sect that seceded from the principal Muslim body
after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632. Kharijites reject primogeniture
succession of the Quraysh, the tribe of Muhammad, and assert that leadership of
Islam, the caliphate, should be designated by an imam elected by the community
from candidates who possess spiritual and personal qualities. Ibadhi leadership
is vested in an imam, who is regarded as the sole legitimate leader and combines
religious and political authority. The imam is elected by a council of prominent
laymen or shaykhs. Adherence to Ibadism accounts in part for Oman's historical
isolation. Ibadis were not inclined to integrate with their neighbours, as the
majority of Sunni Muslims regard Ibadism as a heretical form of Islam.
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque Muscat |
Mosque - Nizwa, Oman |
Behla Mosque, Oman |
 A
mosque along the route from Dubai to Muscat in Oman |
Said Bin Taimoor Mosque, Oman |
Islamic Centers and Organizations
Bahja-PDO mosque, Haima
Sultan
Qaboos Grand Mousque, Muscat, muscat
Phone: 92106423
Imam Jabir
bin Zaid Library, Wadi al Kabir, Wadi al Kabir
Phone: 968-9382902
Ali Mohamme
Hamad Al-Hajri Trade, , Bidiya
Phone: 968-483493
Al-Shaikh
Hamdan bin Khumayes Al-Yousfi Library, Al Farfarah
Agricultural Fertilizers & Serv. Co., Salala, Dhofar
Phone: 00968-95316277
Alsayyid
Mohammed Bin Masoud Albusaidi Library, Manah
AL-JAMAE
AL-KABEER, Manah, Manah
Hoda
Islamic Library (General), Saham, Oman
Uloom Al
Quran Bookshop, Ruwi, Establishment
Phone: +968-783567
9
mosques, Falaj Al Qaba'il
Abi Baker
Mosque, Rustaq
AL Habbi
Mosque, Bahla'
AL Masjed
AL Sharqi, Al Ghabirah
Al masjid
al-Jama, Mirbat
Al Noor
Mosque, Al Musana`a
Al
Shanfary mosque, Salala
AL-
SHABEYYAH, Madha
AL-JAMAE
AL-KABEER, Manah
Al-Khalele
mosque, Bahla'
Albalush
Mosque, Saham
Albanah
Grand Mosque, Al Banah
Aljama
mosque, Rustaq
Alsalam
mosque, Bid'ah
ASraney
Mosque, Bisyah
Bahja-PDO
mosque, Haima
falj
mosuqe, Falaj Al Qaba'il
Hubar
Mosque, Salala
Imam
Jabir bin Zaid Library, Wadi al Kabir
JAMEA ABU
BILAL MARDAS BIN HUDEIR, Muscat
Jamea
Amer ebn Al Khtab, Thermod
Jamea
jabal akhdar, Jabal Akhbar
Lekhwair
P.D.O Masjid, Lekhwair
Masged
D.ghaph, Salalah
Masjed A'
Sahaba, Seeb International Airport
Masjed
Al-emam Jabir Bin Zayed-Al Araqi, Ibri
Masjed
Albelad, Manah
Masjid
Al-Jamee, Sahma
Masjid
Az'zulfa, Seeb International Airport
Masjid
Bilal, Fahud
Masjid
Hassas al Jadeed (Hassas new mosque), Hassas
Masjid
Khalid ibn Al Waleed, Fahud
Masjid
Nabi Imran, Salala
MASJID
THAT KHAYL- AL HAMRA, Al Hamra'
Masjid
Touba, Ghubrah
Mousqe,
Falaj Al Qaba'il
OmanLNG
mosque, Sur
Shafi
mosque, Barka souk, Barka'
Sidab
Masjed, Muscat
Sultan
Qaboos Grand Mousque, Muscat
Sultan
qaboos mosque, Ibra
Sultan
Qaboos Mosque, Bahla'
مركز
الشريعة لتحفيظ القرآن الكريم, Al Buraymi
مسجد
المعشنى, Salala
مسجد
الواسط, Izki
مسجد
الإستقامه, Izki
مسجد
الحلة الغربية، حبل الحديد, Izki
مسجد
الحاج صالح, Muscat
مسجد
الدفع, Difa`
مسجد
الرسول الاعظم بمطرح, Muscat
مسجد الرسيس,
Izki
مسجد
السلام, Salala
مسجد
السوقيه, Izki
مسجد
الصباره, Mabrah
مسجد
الغربي, Hailain
مسجد رويه,
Salala
مسجد عمر
بن الخطاب, SUWAIQ
المسجد
الجامع, Ja'alan And Sur
المسجد
الشرقي, Falaj Wusta
الجامع
الرئبسي, Ras Al Had
جامع عمر
بن الخطاب, As Suwaiq
جامع
مخيليف, Liwa'
جامع أبو
بكر الصديق, Majiz Saghirah
جامع
المازم, Ibri
جامع
الإمام الصلت بن مالك الخروصي , سعال, Nizwa
جامع
الامام الربيع بن حبيب الفراهيدي, Liwa'
جامع
التقوى, Farq
جامع
السليف, Ibri
جامع
السلطان قابوس, Ibri
جامع
السلطان قابوس, Adam
جامع
السلطان قابوس, Nizwa
جامع
الشراة, Sama'il
جامع
العينين, Ibri
جامع
بامزروع, Salala
جامع ديل
ال عبد السلام, Dil Al ŻAbd as Salam
جامع سوق
الجمعة, Wadi al Kabir
Al-Shaikh
Hamdan bin Khumayes Al-Yousfi Library, Al Farfarah
Alsayyid
Mohammed Bin Masoud Albusaidi Library, Manah
Hoda
Islamic Library (General), Saham
مكتبة
وادي بني خالد العامة, Wadi Bani Khalid
مكتبة
الشيخ حمد بن عبيد السليمي, Sama'il
مكتبة
الشراة العامة, Sama'il
وزارة
الأوقاف والشؤون الدينية, Muscat
Hera
Quran School, Nizwa
مدرسة
صلالة الخاصة, Salala
معهد
العلوم الشرعية, Muscat
Muslim Owned Business
Agricultural Fertilizers & Serv. Co., Salala
Ali
Mohamme Hamad Al-Hajri Trade,
ALNadwah
Shop book, Bisiyah
Islamic
library, Falaj Al Qaba'il
Mohamed
Al Abri Real Estate, Muscat
shams Al-eloom
Bookshop& Tape Recording, Sohar
Uloom Al
Quran Bookshop, Ruwi
مكتبة
اليقين للتسجيلات الاسلامية, Muscat
مركز
المرأة والتكنولوجيا, Salala
References
Islam in Oman (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Oman , October, 2008).
Info please (
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107856.html , October, 2008).
Islam Finder (
http://www.islamicfinder.org/cityPrayerNew.php?country=oman , October,
2008).
Anonymous, Documents from Representatives of Islamic Organizations in Oman,
October 2008.