Qaboos bin Said, an Omani man wearing a muti colored head wrap and gold, black, and white clothing. He has white facial hair neatly trimmed. He looks up with a small smile.
“Because I thought my father was not leading the country in the right way he should have been leading it, I had some friends and they helped me.”
– Qaboos bin Said
To learn about queer history is to be in constant need of context. To look at what queerness meant to one society or another, how those within a given profession or period viewed gender nonconformity, or how a specific artistic movement understood gender as a whole, can be absolutely necessary to understanding even a single thread of the great tapestry of queer history. It can all become relevant depending on the story. In this project, we have been challenged to learn about the history of whistling as a profession, the philosophy of tropical modernism, and the evolution of queer cinema as a whole. One of the more difficult tasks that we have been set upon has been learning the history of a country. Suppose one can spend their entire life learning all the ins and outs of a single life. In that case, the history of an entire nation is a massive undertaking and one that has to be taken seriously. This is why it is one that this project often avoids. When possible, it is simply easier to avoid diving down that particular rabbit hole and learn only what the article demands about a country.
This is not possible in the case of Qaboos bin Said. As the Sultan of Oman, his life is inextricably linked to the growth and change of his country. On the one hand, this is simply because his life was dedicated to the ruling and shaping of his country. His ideologies, values, and life can be understood more than most by analyzing his nation. On the other hand, he was notorious for keeping his personal life out of the papers. Therefore, his mark on the world will not be found by combing through his personal connections.
Understanding Oman is no easy task, and this project has not wholly accomplished it. Oman, as with any country, cannot be summarized or flattened, as fellow queer person from history Zinaida Gippius said:
“We lapse into untruth only when we generalize the truth, which is easy when thoughts are abbreviated, when one encloses oneself within the ambit of a given reality.”
Oman has been called many things: the Switzerland of the Middle East, the most queer-friendly nation of the gulf. It is often discussed as a country compared to the ones surrounding it. This is largely because it is the most American/British friendly of the countries within the region. With this context, the praise heaped upon the nation can seem suspicious in a way. With the additional context that the country has strict laws limiting the free press and what citizens and journalists say, the praise can almost seem dismissable.
This would be a mistake, an abbreviated thought. Qaboos bin Said became Sultan of Oman through a (mostly) bloodless coup in 1970 that was won with the assistance of the British government. One of the only costs of the coup came from Qaboos bin Said’s father when he accidentally shot himself in the foot (literally). Although, as a leader, Said bin Taimur was very different from his son, known for being moralistic and not considering the needs of his people, his expulsion is not a tragedy.
In becoming the leader of Oman, Qaboos made significant changes that were badly needed within the country. One of the first and most notable was eliminating slavery within the country. He was known for his love of the arts. His renowned 120 member orchestra included both male and female musicians. He also built roads, hospitals, and schools, worked on gender equality, and attempted to move his country from the wealth that relied on fossil fuels to green energy. All of these things cannot be dismissed as token good moments. They are major accomplishments in any man’s career and show a solid and admirable character.
It is also worth noting that Qaboos is well-loved within Oman by all accounts. Parts of this can be dismissed, as there are strict limits on what can be said about him in the first place, but parts cannot. There is no way to deny that by all evidence, Qaboos took his job seriously and did well at it.
If all of these actions can be used to reveal a solid and admirable character, other less flattering actions are worth looking at as well. The most apparent flaw for this project is that homosexuality is illegal in Oman, punishable by up to three years in jail. This all comes in a country run for 50 years by a man widely believed to be homosexual.
“Believed to be” is the only responsible way to describe the rumours about Qaboos bin Said’s sexuality, as the proof is mostly hearsay. Still, hearsay is shockingly widespread, and there are reasons to believe it. The first and most often cited evidence is that Qaboos’ only marriage was short-lived and childless, going on only three years. He married his first cousin in 1976, six years after his rule began, and in 1979, the marriage ended in divorce.
His childless state was a topic of much discussion and upset, especially upon his failing health at the end of his life. Within the Sultane, Qaboos was expected to provide an heir to inherit his position, but he never did. Instead, he wrote two suggestions in letters to be opened upon his death.
This, though, is hardly proof. Many heterosexual people live full, happy lives, childfree and unmarried. The further proof comes almost entirely from the word of those around him. What alternative is there? While the most reliable way to understand someone’s sexuality is their own words, there are many reasons that does not always happen. In Qaboos’ case, he was in a position where being open about his sexuality would be taken well. If anything, it could prove to be a hindrance to his rule. Throughout queer history, there are a number of queer monarchs who were stalled in their ambitions because of their sexuality and the announcement of it.
It is now that the term “open secret” comes into the mix. It is the term most often used to describe Qaboos sexuality, and in many ways, it is all that could be reasonably required of the man. There are many nuances within the discussions of public figures’ sexuality, but there are also clear lines. One of the more apparent lines is that someone else’s sexuality is not owed to the public. This belief becomes more and more complicated upon application. In the case of a figure like Qaboos, beloved and powerful, opening up about his sexuality could make a massive difference to millions of queer people around the globe. However, just because it was within his power to make that choice does not mean it is fair to expect that of him. As much as the difference he could have made is a tempting and beautiful thought, he was a person. Like every person, he is owed some privacy during his life.
“During his life” is also a particularly crucial phrase within this discussion because the end of his privacy comes along with the end of his life. It has to be acknowledged that since his death was in 2020, almost all of the sources discussing his sexuality were doing so when he was still alive. The difference between the discussion then and now is not a large one, and it brings forward the question, where is the line? Though it is simple and easy to say that his death is when all bets were off, the sources from before his death are a large part of any contemporary look into his sexuality. They may be the only sources to analyze until further evidence is revealed.
What does it mean to have an ethical discussion if the ethical base is only possible because of an unethical beginning? This question often comes up in queer history because honestly, rumours, hearsay, and even insults have to be looked at when looking for something as personal as a sexual or gender identity.
It is also worth noting that of all the people to gossip about, Qaboos was hardly a powerless person. He was not thrust into the public spotlight and forced to answer intrusive questions. Rather, public scrutiny was a necessary component of his job. When his government outright banned the expression of his supposed sexuality, it could be argued that his sexuality was fair discourse. The answer to that charge is not one this project claims to have.
Instead, it can be said that regardless of his sexuality, §§, 33 and 223 of the Omani penal code making homosexuality illegal was something that Qaboos had the power to challenge, and he chose not to. That is not the choice of a perfect person. No matter how much certain media outlets want to display his rule as an uncomplicated and happy one, this reality, along with his restrictions and arrests of journalists, keeps that from ever being true.
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING
Disclaimer: some of the sources may contain triggering material
Ali, W. (2020, January 11). Who was Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said? EgyptToday. https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/79540/Who-was-Sultan-Qaboos-bin-Said-al-Said
Caballero-Reynolds, A. (2020, January 10). Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who modernized Oman, dies at 79. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/sultan-qaboos-bin-said-who-modernized-oman-dies-79-n1113991
Cafiero, G., & Karasik, T. (2016, April 27). Can Oman’s Stability Outlive Sultan Qaboos? Middle East Institute. https://www.mei.edu/publications/can-omans-stability-outlive-sultan-qaboos
Cassimally, S. (2018, March 13). Two Gay Royals. Medium. https://sancass.medium.com/two-gay-royals-b9298406a0fb
Counter-Terrorism: Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Care. (2008, May 21). https://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htterr/20080521.aspx
Darwish, R. (n.d.). Was Oman’s Late Sultan the “Only Gay Monarch” in the World and Why Do People Care? Al Bawaba. Retrieved January 23, 2022, from https://www.albawaba.com/node/was-omans-late-sultan-only-gay-monarch-world-and-why-do-people-care-1332272
Dickinson, E. (2014, December 8). A Test for Oman and Its Sultan. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/will-oman-survive-sultan
http://bitwize.com.lb, B.-. (2021, January 9). Ten of the most inspirational quotes of late Sultan Qaboos. Times of Oman. https://timesofoman.com/article/96998-ten-of-the-most-inspirational-quotes-of-late-sultan-qaboos
Jazeera, A. (2020, January 11). Oman’s Sultan Qaboos, a negotiator in a volatile region. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/1/11/omans-sultan-qaboos-a-negotiator-in-a-volatile-region
Kerr, S., & McDermott, J. (2020, January 11). Qaboos bin Said Al Said, Sultan of Oman, 1940-2020. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/4bbad65c-3456-11ea-a6d3-9a26f8c3cba4
Legg, P. (2020, January 12). Sultan Qaboos bin Said obituary. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/12/obituary-sultan-qaboos-bin-said
Manji, I. (n.d.). Queer Cafe. Retrieved January 23, 2022, from https://queercafe.net/arab.htm
Obituary: Oman’s Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, a moderniser with an iron fist. (2020, January 11). Middle East Eye. http://www.middleeasteye.net/features/obituary-sultan-qaboos-bin-said
Oman: Activist’s Family Barred from Traveling Abroad. (2017, February 14). Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/02/14/oman-activists-family-barred-traveling-abroad
Rogers, D. (2020, January 11). Condolences for Sultan Qaboos ignore open secret. QNews. https://qnews.com.au/condolences-for-sultan-qaboos-ignore-open-secret/
Sly, L. (2020, January 11). Oman’s Sultan Qaboos is buried as his successor is named. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/omans-sultan-qaboos-is-buried-as-his-successor-is-named/2020/01/11/f09e3186-3475-11ea-9313-6cba89b1b9fb_story.html
Sultan Qaboos of Oman, Arab world’s longest-serving ruler, dies aged 79. (2020, January 11). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50902476
Who was Sultan Qaboos of Oman? (2020, January 11). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-middle-east-51076014
Zacharias, A. (2020, January 11). Oman’s long night: From rumour to reality as a nation learns of Sultan Qaboos’ death. The National. https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/gcc/oman-s-long-night-from-rumour-to-reality-as-a-nation-learns-of-sultan-qaboos-death-1.962954