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There's a new blog from Oman on the block. It's written by an American student, who is staying with a host Omani family while writing a research proposal and finding out more about the country.

There are some excerpts which I would like to share with you:

"if we do things that our homestay families consider inappropriate, our homestay families will not tell us directly but contact [our advisor] and complain. They are going to make it seem as if everthing is peachy. Kind of the mindset of oman in general. If you read the newspapers you’ll notice that nothing ever goes wrong here."

"Sheik Hal Fahn, [ ] a very important imam came to speak to us. He used to work for Petroleum Development Oman(PDO) [ ]. He is the only person who was allowed to address the public in Oman when the Danish Cartoons came out.
Here are some things he said to us:-

• The most important value in Arabia is relationship. It's all about networking and exchanging info, supporting each other. He made it a fact to say that the west is all about self-reliance and independence. “In Arabia if I don’t know you there is no business.”
• The second most important value is Seniority, in the order of : Allah, prophet, sultan, government minister, tribal leader
• “Democracy will never work in this part of the world. We've lived too many years with these values."

"According the Quran a man can have up to 4 wives. The Sheik said that most men in oman don’t have more than one. However if they do it’s for the good of society. [ ] The Quran also says that he must treat each one of the equally. According to the Sheik it has nothing to do with sexual relations. This is a responsibility rather than a luxury."

"One of my peers was shown that movie of how September 11th was a conspiracy created by the U.S. government. [We were told] many Omanis still admire Osama Bin Laden because they don’t believe he had anything to do with the terrorist attacks. [ ]. They think Americans have no idea what goes on around the world. [In fact, we were told at the start that] most Muslims actually believe that the terrorists attacks are not done by Muslims at all and that it is someone else."

"Ahmed Ali M. Al- Mukhaini came to talk to us about Tribes, Patronage and Politics in Oman. [ ] Here in Oman there are no political parties, only tribes. His Majesty is an Al Bu Said, one of the biggest tribes here in Oman. He is of the Qahtani tribe which is from the south. The Nizari tribe is of the north. Ahmed told us that democracy is not appropriate for this side of the world."

Which makes one wonder about the efficacy of the Oman-US FTA as a tool for promoting democracy in the Middle East.

On visiting MacDonalds with Omani family and friends:

"The girls that are not in [my organisation] are uncovered. It makes me think badly about them. They are dressed in Western clothing. Their clothes are so tight. I can’t believe my eyes."

Even though I have been away from the Middle East for several years now, I still blanch at the sight of girls and women in skimpy tops and dresses, and I will always put on an overshirt if I am wearing a sleeveless dress outside my house. Which just goes to show how strong cultural pressures can be to conform and cover.

The educational system in Oman and the rest of the Middle East is so bad. Based on memorization, nothing more. All of the important people here go elsewhere for their education. They don’t teach political science at the universities.

We knew the place where the museum was located. We thought. We took a taxi to what we thought was the museum block and proceeded to follow the signs. The first sign we saw pointed to an empty parking lot. Super. So after an hour and a half of walking through the hottest weather ever, we finally found it. [ ] To our “surprise” the museum was closed. More than closed actually. There were x’s all over the windows and doors. Way to go Omani tourism.

I shall be interested to observe this student's commentary and reactions over the coming months. It's a refreshing perspective on the country, albeit, the young person is perhaps a little naive in thinking that the authorities won't mind.

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