Omanis

History

Omani presence in the Swahili Coast can be traced since the Nabhani dynasty. In the late seventeenth century, Zanzibar became part of the overseas holdings of Oman after Saif bin Sultan, the imam of Oman, defeated the Portuguese in Mombasa, in what is now Kenya.

Large numbers of Omanis settled in the Swahili Coast — especially after 1832, when the Omani Sultan Said bin Sultan moved his court to Zanzibar. To the Omanis, the region became a land of economic opportunity.

Omanis who migrated to the Swahili Coast looked forward to a better life. The Omani community in the Swahili Coast grew and became financially successful. Omanis stopped moving to Zanzibar after a revolution occurred in Zanzibar in 1964. The Omani descendant, sultan of Zanzibar, Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah was overthrown, and thousands of Omanis were killed, among many other Arabs. Soon after the revolution, many Omanis fled Zanzibar to avoid persecution and returned to their ancestral homeland in Oman, but others chose to remain on the Swahili Coast.

Gwadar, a region of Balochistan in Pakistan, was a Colony of Oman for more than a century and in the 1960s, Pakistan gained the land. Hence, many people in this region are Omani. Around 20% of Omanis are of Baloch descent whose ancestors migrated to Oman centuries ago, and are now considered native. With an additional 15% expatriate population, the figure rises to 35%.

Notable Omanis

• Qaboos bin Said al Said, the Sultan of Oman from 1970 to 2020.
• Talal bin Suleiman Al Rahbi, economist and diplomat.
• Mohammed Al Rumhi, Oman's Minister of Oil and Gas.
• Ahmad Al Harthy, Oman's top racing driver and a leading international sportsman.
• Samira bint Mohamed Al-Moosa, Oman's ambassador and permanent delegate to UNESCO.
• Ali Al Habsi, Oman and Reading F.C. footballer
• Ahmed bin Hamad al-Khalili, grand mufti of Oman.
• Mohammed Al Barwani, billionaire and the richest man in Oman.
• Madeeha bint Ahmed bin Nassir al Shibaniyah, the Minister of Education Oman.
• Mubarak Al-Saadi, footballer
• Tariq Al Sadi, footballer
• Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Rawya Saud Al Busaidi, Minister of Higher Education.
• Sultan bin Mohammed al Nu'amani, Minister of Royal Office.
• Ahmed Al-Harrasi, is an Omani scientist and a professor of organic chemistry at University of Nizwa.
• Jokha Al-Harthi, Omani writer
• Haitham bin Tariq, Sultan of Oman from 2020- present

References and notes

References

1. "Monthly Statistical Bulletin: October 2019".
2. (10 February 2014). "Immigrant and Emigrant Populations by Country of Origin and Destination".
3. Bibbo, Barbara. (28 September 2003). "Omanis in the UAE allowed to vote in Shura council polls". Gulf News.
4. [https://web.archive.org/web/20170216230256/http://www.bq-magazine.com/economy/socioeconomics/2015/08/kuwaits-population-by-nationality Kuwait's population - by nationality] archived from [http://www.bq-magazine.com/economy/socioeconomics/2015/08/kuwaits-population-by-nationality the original]
5. "Country-of-birth database". [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]].
6. "Arab legacy lingers as Pakistan's Gwadar grows from tiny fishing town into port city". Arab News.
7. "Household Population by Country of Citizenship: Philippines, 2010". Philippine Statistics Authority.
8. [https://www.nepo.unicamp.br/observatorio/bancointerativo/numeros-imigracao-internacional/sincre-sismigra/ Immigrants in Brazil (2024, in Portuguese)]
9. "Статистические сведения по миграционной ситуации".
10. (25 January 2024). "2023.12 Foreign Residents by Nationality". 內政部移民署.
11. "Oman's Diverse Society: Northern Oman".
12. (25 February 2016). "Oman's players of Pakistan origin caught in visa mix-up".
13. Valeri, Marc. (2009). "Oman: Politics and Society in the Qaboos State". Hurst.
14. "Oman - The World Factbook".
15. (2008). "Arab/American: Landscape, Culture, and Cuisine in Two Great Deserts". The University of Arizona Press.
16. (Nov 1, 2011). "The Rough Guide to Oman". Penguin.
17. "The Omani Ascendancy".
18. (1964-01-14). "Regime Banishes Sultan". The New York Times.
19. (2015-10-08). "State and Nation-Building in Pakistan: Beyond Islam and Security". Routledge.
20. "Oman".
21. "Harnessing the GCC's Baloch pedigree".