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This study examines pluralism and its impact on the political and religious balance in Omani Society, whether religious, linguistic, ethnic, and confessional pluralism or geographical and cultural pluralism. It frames the issue within its geographical and historical contexts and provides an anthropological account of structural patterns in a Gulf state which has rarely been studied. The research will observe three types of discourse, each of which attempts to redefine the components of Omani society and culture. The religious discourse and its significant effect on religious tolerance is the most dynamic discourse. In this context, the convergence of sectarian religious discourse in Oman will be discussed along with the extent to which the Omani Sultanate is influenced by the widespread sectarianism in the Greater Middle East today. The cultural discourse will also be discussed in its contemporary modern form, despite being structurally, sociologically, and politically incomplete. Finally, the paper also explores political discourse and its consolidation of pluralism as a concept in Omani society.

Asks what tribal identity meant to Arabs at different stages of the caliphate's evolution. Provides a study of early Islamic tribalism influenced by more up-to-date anthropological ideas than the theory of segmentation. Applies developments in cultural memory studies and early Islamic source criticism to the study of tribal identity. Provides an in-depth look at the large al-Azd tribal confederation, which has previously been examined only in Oman.

Abstract Human resources play a key role in socio-economic growth and development in any society. Over the past forty years, research into various educational indicators particularly adult literacy rates and population enrollment in higher education institutions, indicate significant progress made towards gender equality in Oman. Omani women have shown remarkable attainment in entrance examinations at higher educational institutions, and they have also achieved noteworthy academic performance in their respectable fields of study. Although, women have had greater success in their educational achievements, this is not reflected in their participation in the labour market.The purpose of this essay is to analyze Oman’s educational reform, its successes and challenges, relative to the overall development objectives of the country, with particular emphasis on the female population as actors in/beneficiaries of the reform.

When Sultan Qabus issued Decree 101 on November 6, 1996, Oman was the last Arab country to implement a constitutional document. However, the political impact of this document is controversial: Whereas some consider the Basic Law a step towards democratization, others see merely a continuation of traditional policies. In this article I investigate the innovative potential of the Basic Law. Against the background of Omani and regional history and European and Islamic constitutional thought, I review the Decree with regard to authority and legitimation. I suggest that the law is mainly symbolic in character. It exploits tribal and Islamic concepts to create a historically unfounded notion of a homogeneous state. The civil liberties it grants do not extend to the public sphere. I conclude that Oman's Basic Law does nothing more than to freeze the status quo, according to which the Sultan remains the only recognized authority in the state.

The present article analyzes the historiographic works of three Omani ʿulamāʾ during the twentieth century. It tries to contextualize them in the historical period in which they were written, showing the peculiarity of Omani literature in the context of the Arab world. This is due to various factors: first of all the development of its history constantly characterized by the Ibadhi religion. For example the nahḍah and the reformism have taken on different meanings in Oman, especially in the modernizing era of Sultan Qābūs’s rule. Omani historiography is part and the product of this peculiarity. It narrates the changes and events in Oman and shows how the historiographer is affected by history, culture and religion.

"Knowledge and Education in Classical Islam: Religious Learning between Continuity and Change is a pioneering collection of essays on the historical developments, ideals, and practices of Islamic learning and teaching in the formative and classical periods of Islam (i.e., from the seventh to fifteenth centuries CE). Based on innovative and philologically sound primary source research, and utilizing the most recent methodological tools, this two volume set sheds new light on the challenges and opportunities that arise from a deep engagement with classical Islamic concepts of knowledge, its production and acquisition, and, of course, learning. Learning is especially important because of its relevance to contemporary communities and societies in our increasingly multicultural, "global" civilizations, whether Eastern or Western. Contributors: Hosn Abboud, Sara Abdel-Latif, Asma Afsaruddin, Shatha Almutawa, Nuha Alshaar, Jessica Andruss, Mustafa Banister, Enrico Boccaccini, Sonja Brentjes, Michael G. Carter, Hans Daiber, Yoones Dehghani Farsani, Yassir El Jamouhi, Nadja Germann, Antonella Ghersetti, Sebastian Günther, Mohsen Haredy, Angelika Hartmann, Paul L. Heck, Asma Hilali, Agnes Imhof, Jamal Juda, Wadad Kadi, Mehmet Kalayci, Alexey A. Khismatulin, Todd Lawson, Mariana Malinova, Ulrika Mårtensson, Christian Mauder, Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Maryam Moazzen, Angelika Neuwirth, Jana Newiger, Luca Patrizi, Lutz Richter-Bernburg, Ali R. Rizek, Mohammed Rustom, Jens Scheiner, Gregor Schoeler, Steffen Stelzer, Barbara Stowasser, Jacqueline Sublet, and Martin Tamcke"--

This article explores Talāq, which refers to the right of men in Islam to divorce their wives, with particular emphasis upon triple Talāq. This article seeks to answer the question of how triple Talāq at one time is applied in modern-day Muslim societies, in light of contemporary socio-economic conditions. The historical events surrounding the emergence of triple Talāq in Islam demonstrates the possibility of its renewal in Islamic law. This is significant because it demonstrates that, contrary to the teaching of many Muslim scholars including contemporary Ibadī scholars in Oman, change and renewal are not inimical to Islam but rather intrinsic to it. I argue here that the inflexibility of Ibadī scholars regarding triple Talāq at one time promotes gender inequality and discriminatory practices in Oman, especially towards women. This article begins by exploring the different methods of Talāq in Islamic law. It then focuses on triple Talāq at one time (in one event). The discussion of triple Talāq at one time aims to explore the interaction between legal, economic and social factors, on one hand, and how these factors have affected the law of triple Talāq during both pre-modern and contemporary Muslim societies. Subsequently, the article will examine how contemporary Muslim scholars react to the new social and economic factors associated with triple Talāq at one time.