Sheikh Sultan Life and Times

life and timesBY ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHER NOOR ALI RASHID

Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qassimi is the Ruler of Sharjah and Member of the Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates. He was honoured with the 2010 Cultural Personality of the Year award by the Sheikh Zayed Book Award for his contribution to the advancement of the Arab culture and his efforts to enrich Arabic literature. Dr Sheikh Sultan is not only a ruler committed to the promotion of culture and the arts, he is also a prolific author, a respected researcher, and a distinguished history professor.

Noor Ali Rashid has documented the life and work of Sheikh Sultan, from the 1940s, right up to the present day. The Ruler’s vision for the emirate’s growth and development, has seen Sharjah grow into a modern state while still maintaining the values and traditions of its people. Under his leadership, Sharjah has also been transformed into a centre for learning, arts, and culture.

Besides the official recording of historic moments, Noor Ali Rashid was there to capture less formal events, thus providing a glimpse into the life and times of Sharjah’s esteemed Ruler.

Noor Ali Rashid Life ANd Times SHEIKH SULTAN –

SHEIKHSULTAN

INTRODUcTION BY HE SHEIKH NAHAYAN MABARAK AL NAHAYAN

Published with the sponsorship of Crescent Petroleum

SHEIKHSULTANlife and times

Published with the sponsorship of Crescent Petroleum

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SHEIKHSULTAN

life and timesBY ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHER

NOOR ALI RASHID

Other Motivate titles by Noor Ali Rashid

Abu Dhabi – Life and TimesDubai – Life and TimesThe UAE – Visions of ChangeSheikh Zayed – Life and TimesSheikh Maktoum – Life and TimesSheikh Khalifa – Life and TimesSheikh Mohammed – Life and Times

Published by Motivate Publishing

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Directors: Obaid Humaid Al Tayer and Ian FairserviceGeneral Manager Books: Jonathan Griffiths

Consultant Editor: Catherine Demangeot

Editors: Moushumi Nandy, Simona Cassano Senior Designer: Cithadel FranciscoDesigner: Charlie Banalo

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© Noor Ali Rashid and Motivate Publishing 2010

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing in any medium by electronic means) without the written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for the copyright holders’ written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publishers. In accordance with the International Copyright Act 1956 and the UAE Federal Law No. (7) of 2002, Concerning Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights, any person acting in contravention of this copyright will be liable to criminal prosecu tion and civil claims for damages.

ISBN: 978 1 86063 272 3

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Printed and bound in the UAE by Emirates Printing Press, Dubai.

Dedication

Author’s TeamPhoto Archivist: Shamsa RashidPhoto Researcher: Samia RashidEditorial Coordinator: Yasmin Rashid

Other photographic credits

Crescent Petroleum: 40 (top & bottom), 115 (bottom)Dar Al Khaleej, Photographic archive: 53, 55, 90 (top), 99, 113, 114, 142Gulfpics: 56, 121 (top)Private collection of HH Sheikh Sultan: Title page, 44 (bottom), 89 (bottom), 102–103, 105, 106, 107, 108 (top & bottom), 109, 111 (bottom)WAM/Emirates News Agency: 94, 95

This book is respectfully dedicated to HH Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, Ruler of Sharjah, for his relentless worldwide endeavours to advance the awareness and appreciation of Middle Eastern and Islamic cultures, through the pursuit of education and cultural understanding. — Noor Ali Rashid

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I am truly delighted and deeply honoured to have this opportunity to introduce this remarkable book on the life and times of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, Member of the Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah. I welcome this opportunity to pay tribute to His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan for his great contributions to the development and progress in Sharjah and the UAE.

For as long as I can remember, I have been very impressed with Sheikh Sultan’s vision for Sharjah and his efforts to transform the emirate into a leading centre for learning, culture and the arts. Under his enlightened leadership, appreciation of Sharjah’s rich heritage is enhanced by the emphasis on modern culture. This is an emirate where literature, theater, music, painting, sculpture, photography, and folk dancing are actively promoted and encouraged. Sharjah is a place where elegant mosques, museums, art exhibitions, heritage festivals, and book fairs can be enjoyed. Today, Sharjah is home to a large number of non-profit foundations, associations and clubs that promote culture and support intellectual interests and pursuits. No wonder then that Sharjah was awarded its ultimate accolade in 1998, when UNESCO named it the Cultural Capital of the Arab World. Sharjah has also been designated as the Cultural Capital of the Islamic World for the year 2014. One only needs to observe the vibrant cultural environment in Sharjah to have an appreciation of Sheikh Sultan’s vision, leadership, and strong commitment to a bright future for Sharjah and the United Arab Emirates.

The spirit of Sharjah’s history (which dates back more than 6,000 years) has been kept alive by His

Introduction

Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan, who has successfully incorporated both heritage and modernity into every aspect of development. What is particularly remarkable is the fact that Dr Sheikh Sultan is not only a ruler who is committed to the promotion of culture and the arts, he is also a prolific author, an esteemed researcher, and a distinguished history professor. His books on the history of the UAE and the region have corrected many of the misconceptions about our history. His most recent book Sard Al That, is an autobiography that covers his life from the 1940s to the 1970s. This valuable work documents major milestones in Sharjah, the Gulf and the Arab world during that transitional period of our history.

Dr Sheikh Sultan is also a leader who understands the importance of education to the development of society. With his guidance, Sharjah has become an important centre of learning in the region. Its impressive University City, with its seven campuses including those of the American University in Sharjah, Sharjah University and the Higher Colleges of Technology, is a source of great pride to us all.

For his many efforts and dedication to promoting culture and education in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates, and the Arab world, Dr Sheikh Sultan was named by the prestigious Sheikh Zayed Book Foundation as the 2010 Cultural Personality of the Year. This award is the richly deserved culmination of a lifetime of dedication to our cultural heritage and pursuit of educational excellence.

In addition to education and culture, Sharjah, under the direction of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan, has taken giant strides in creating a viable infrastructure for industry, commerce, and agriculture. With its oil and

gas, ports on both coasts, an international airport and free zones, the emirate is a leading industrial base in the region. Sharjah’s modern shopping malls, traditional souks, sports competitions, and numerous beaches and desert activities contribute to a high quality of life in the emirate.

Once again, it is indeed a great pleasure for me to write the introduction to this book on His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, a leader who has made all this possible. For this I must thank the author, Noor Ali Rashid. This is the eighth book in Noor Ali’s ‘Life and Times’ series that so graphically documents the history of the UAE and its leaders. For nearly six decades, Noor Ali has been the official photographer of the UAE. His photographic collection is, in fact, one of the premier records of the development of the United Arab Emirates. Thank you, Noor Ali, for your energy, your talent, and your unfaltering commitment to the compilation of this photographic record of global significance.

I am confident that readers everywhere will enjoy both the subject of this book and the brilliant photography as much as I do.

Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al NahayanMinister of Higher Education and Scientific ResearchUnited Arab Emirates

HE Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan

Contents

Introduction 6

Chapter 1 – Historical legacy 10

Chapter 2 – Developing the emirate 32

Chapter 3 – Statesmanship 66

Chapter 4 – A learned man 102

Chapter 5 – Traditional family values 126

Sharjah Fort photographed here was the official residence of the Ruler until 1965.

It then became the headquarters of Sharjah Police and was demolished to make

way for the new banking centre. Rebuilt in the early 1990s, it is now a museum

whose displays retrace the story of the emirate over the last 200 years. It is the

historical heart of the emirate.

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HISTORICAL LegACy

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Chapter 1

Historical legacy

Despite the presence of the different foreign powers during the eighteenth century, the Qawasim tribes, which were excellent mariners, established a significant maritime power in the Southern gulf; by the beginning of the 19th century they had built up a sizeable fleet of large vessels and were able to put up to 20,000 sailors to sea. Their strength did however pose a serious challenge to the British, who were then emerging as the dominant power in the Indian Ocean. In the first two decades of the nineteenth century, a series of clashes between the two sides ended in the virtual destruction of the Qawasim fleet and the consolidation of British influence in the gulf. To justify their attacks on the Qawasim navy, the British claimed that it was involved in acts of piracy. These claims have been convincingly refuted by Sheikh Sultan in his book titled The Myth of Arab Piracy in the Gulf (1986), which shows that the British attacks on Qawasim fleets essentially responded to their strategic ambition of establishing a base for trade purposes and as a measure to protect the trade routes between europe and India.

On 8 January 1820, Sheikh Sultan I signed the general Maritime Treaty with Britain, accepting a protectorate to keep the Ottomans out. Like four of its neighbours, Ajman, Dubai, Ra’s al-Khaimah and Umm al-Qaiwain, its position on the route to India made it important enough to be recognized as a salute state by the British government1. The Treaty marked the beginning of a period of peace, in particular at sea. The name of the coast became the Trucial Oman Coast and the sheikhdoms became known as the Trucial States from 1853 up until the formation of the United Arab emirates in 1971. In the nineteenth century the town of Sharjah was the leading port in the lower gulf.

HH Dr Sheikh Sultan III bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, born on 6 July 1939, is the fifteenth ruler of a dynasty whose historically known rulers date back to 1727; he is the third to bear this name. Sheikh Sultan has ruled Sharjah since 1972. He is a descendant of the famous Qawasim family which settled in Sharjah roughly in 1727 and formed an independent sheikhdom, thus marking the beginning of its recent history.

Historically, Sharjah, meaning “rising sun”, was one of the wealthiest towns in the region, having been settled for over 6,000 years. As early as the second century, a map drawn by the greek geographer Ptolemy indicates a settlement called Sarcoa where Sharjah can now be found. The famous Arab navigator, Ahmad Ibn Majid referred to Sharjah in his records in AD 1490 as he navigated the gulf’s waters. The population was small and relied mainly on trade and seafaring along with farming, hunting, fishing and pearling.

However, as various european empires started to assert their ambitions towards other continents, Sharjah suffered a long period of turmoil and unrest because of its strategic location along the trade routes between India and the Mediterranean. In 1507, the Portuguese, whose aim was to control the spice trade, conquered the region. They built forts in strategic locations along the gulf of Oman coast, in Dibba, Khor Fakkan and Kalba. However, other european countries also became interested in establishing strongholds in the region. In the early 1600s, the Dutch defeated the Portuguese, for the same purpose of controlling the trade routes. As of the middle of the seventeenth century the British had also entered the fray for regional supremacy, initially by establishing trade relationships with the local Qawasim clan.

1 A Salute state was a princely state (i.e. reigned by a native ruler of

princely rank) to which the British colonial paramount ruler has granted

a gun salute; i.e., the protocollary privilege for its ruler to be greeted –

originally by Royal Navy ships, later also on land – with a number of

gun shots, as recognition of the state’s relative status.

OppOsite page: On completion of his tour of duty, Colonel Stuart Carter,

commanding officer of the Trucial Oman Scouts headquartered in

Sharjah, prepares to hand the flag over to his successor.

In the nineteenth century, Sharjah was the second most important city in

the whole Gulf after Kuwait. It was also the first of the Trucial States

where Britain installed a political representative, in 1823.

SHeIKH SULTAN: LIFe AND TIMeS

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HISTORICAL LegACy

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abOve: An aerial view of Sharjah’s first civilian airport in the mid-1960s. The airport provided

Sharjah with an important source of income, at a time when the fortunes of the emirate and

the whole region were profoundly affected by the decline of the pearl trade.

OppOsite page: In the late 1960s, the airport was often the scene of high-level gatherings such

as this. Here (from second left), Sheikh Mohammed of Fujairah, Sheikh Maktoum of Dubai,

Sheikh Rashid of Umm al-Qaiwain, Sheikh Hamad of Ajman accompany Sheikh Khalid of

Sharjah (right) as he prepares to welcome Sheikh Ahmed Al Sabah, Kuwait’s foreign minister.

Produce from the interior of Oman, India and Persia arrived there. Salt from its mines, along with pearls, were major items of its export business.

During the British rule, Sharjah was probably the most important of the emirates and became the main political and economic centre on the coast. It maintained that position until the end of the nineteenth century. A reflection of the importance and stability of the sheikhdom is that, between 1823 and 1954, Sharjah was the base for Britain’s only political representative on the Trucial Coast. The prominence of the region was also enhanced by the staging post which the British government established in Sharjah as early as 1932 for the Imperial Airways flights en route from england to India. Sharjah thus became the first airport in the emirates. At that time, the airport was several kilometres away from the town. Donkeys were used to transport in-flight catering and water. Travellers

were met on arrival by groups of traders, who had travelled from the town to do business with them.

The importance of the airport helped cushion the collapse of the pearl trade in the 1930s when the Japanese discovered the secret of cultivating pearls and the great Depression drastically decreased the demand for natural pearls. Sharjah suffered yet another setback thirty years later when the sea trade also declined due to the silting up of the Creek.

Discovery of oil in 1972 and gas in the late 1970s marked the onset of modern-day Sharjah. Combined with the decision to dredge the creek and restore its vital trading role for the emirate, these events changed the fortunes of the emirate.

As another sign of the importance of Sharjah, the British RAF had also established a base there in 1940, which it used during World War II. The RAF also flew campaigns from Sharjah during the Jebel Akhdar conflict


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Right: An early Syrian Arab Airline aircraft on the apron of Sharjah Airport,

in the late 1960s. The runway started as a sand strip built in 1932 by

Imperial Airways to accommodate a stop over for their flights en route to

India. The runway has since been integrated into Sharjah’s road network

and is now a major thoroughfare, known as King Abdul Aziz Street.

in the 1950s. When Sharjah International Airport opened on 1 January 1977, the RAF station closed, and the base was handed over to the emirate of Sharjah.

Although today’s Sharjah International Airport now stands several miles away from the original site, the original airport did leave a fingerprint on modern Sharjah since its runway is now King Abdul Aziz street in downtown Sharjah, and its control tower is now part of the Al Mahatta Museum complex which features the history of flight and the development of aviation in the region.

Quite logically in view of the central role which Sharjah played on the coast, this is also where, in 1951, the Trucial Oman Scouts (TOS) were originally established. The TOS were an internal security and rural patrol force commanded by a British Army Major, with British as well as Arab officers and whose soldiers were recruited locally. They constitute an important part of Sharjah’s historical legacy. They were regarded as a well-trained and efficient military unit. In 1971, with independence, the Trucial Oman Scouts were renamed Union Defence Force (UDF), and were finally integrated into the UAe Union Defence Force in 1986.

In the mid-1950s, Sharjah also witnessed the creation of the first scout association in the UAe, a movement which, thanks to Sheikh Sultan’s dedication has evolved and prospered, as illustrated by the 2008 International gathering of Scouting and Humanitarian Actions held at Sharjah and hosted by Sheikh Sultan himself.

On becoming ruler in 1972, Sheikh Sultan inherited this rich historical legacy which has inspired the course of his life and leadership.


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Left: These RAF soldiers, in a uniform suited to the region’s climate, form

a guard of honour in front of an RAF Percival P.66 Pembroke, which has

just landed at the RAF camp in Sharjah with VIP guests on board. Signs of

development are visible on the left, in the background.


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Right: Colonel Bartholomew appears to be facing down this formidable

cannon at the Scouts’ camp, during the ceremony of his taking over as

Trucial Oman Scout Commander from Lieutenant-Colonel Carter, 1961.

This cannon is now outside the Department of Culture.

Sheikh Sultan Life and Times

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