It's been a couple of weeks, and as guilty as I may feel sometimes, I'd like you know that I do have a life/committments/deadlines/work crises just like you. Often I have to prioritize. These past few days have been a wonderful break from the continuous chaos in my life. I spent the holidays reading, Mirbat-ing it like everyone else in this town, chewing on abalone (end of season.. weep!), and stuffing my face at Siam Kitchen.
Anyway, before I forget I wanted to post the link to an interesting article I found online (that several of you also forwarded to me .. thanks!). Yet another piece about the political situation in Oman. This one is called "Qaboos can make mistakes like anyone else". At first (naturally) the title made me furious because I am not accustomed to hearing anyone refer to our Sultan by his first name. However, I had to remind myself that I was being ridiculous.
Although much of what Valeri says makes perfect sense to me (especially the first half), I have to agree with what someone said in the comments of the previous post. Marc Valeri seems to hold some little personal grudge against the Sultan. This is evident in his writings. I respect him as a scholar and I am familiar with his work (and Claire Beaudevin's work, whom he mentioned at the end of his piece). However, this articles takes a rather narrow view of the situation in Oman, and I don't think it paints an accurate picture of what is going on right now.
Yes, I agree His Majesty Sultan Qaboos is a human just like you or me, but he is an ENLIGHTENED human who has done a world of good for this country, and I admire him very much. As an Omani citizen, small things irritate me occasionally; for example pardoning hundreds of prisoners every year by 'Royal blessing' on both Eids and on National Day doesn't speak well for our justice system, not being able to publicly discuss the question of succession, worrying about the 'elite circle' that Valeri refers to several times, etc, etc (the list is long). But, he is my Sultan, he is a wonderful person, and I will always be loyal to him.
Have you read the piece? What did you think?
I hadn't read the article until you posted it but having lived in a Democratic country, I honestly feel neign dictatorship is the best form of government and His Majesty has that in spades, being my favourite Great of the historical Busaidis due to his compassionate nature, which not even Ahmed, who managed to oust the Persian, managed to show even the littlest concern for. Democracy is far from perfect. Despit ebeing able to vote it feels like we usually have the power to change very little of how we desire our country to run, economics, politics, and business generally holding more sway than the masses.
ReplyDeleteQuote Unquote "I have to agree with what someone said in the comments of the previous post. Marc Valeri seems to hold some little personal grudge against the Sultan." DG.
ReplyDeleteThere is no substance in the above article marc wrote. Best thing to do is, ignore him and his article.
Mti
Marc Valeri is a respected scholar. To dismiss this article as having 'no substance' simply because we don't agree with what he says is unfair
ReplyDeleteOuch
ReplyDeleteYes he seems to hold a personal grudge. not fair.
ReplyDeleteAli
A very interesting article indeed.
ReplyDeleteI think his article is perfectly ok
ReplyDeleteI'll refrain from posting my complete rant on this article. What particularly angried me in this article is the final sentence. Valeri (as a scholar) gives some references, but here he appearantly gives a quote, but without reference. So I'll assume they are his own words. They agrivate me (as a christian) and can in no way appeal to a muslim. It's just not OK and those words only prove how much out of touch with reality this man is.
ReplyDeleteJB