The Sultanate of Oman
The Sultanate of Oman, easily accessible from Dubai, is situated in the northeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. A little smaller than the United Kingdom, its major products and industries include petroleum, dates, citrus and tropical fruit, incense, mineral oil, fisheries, and tourism. Sultan Qaboos bin Said has ruled the country with a stable government for the past 35 years. In this time Oman has built up a modern infrastructure and is trying to enlarge its economy. Its five largest cities are Muscat, Salalah, Sohar, Nizwa and Sur.
Muscat (population: 514,000)
Muscat is the capital of Oman. Omanis from all over the country come here for study, government services, economic reasons, and medical treatment. A large percentage of the population is foreigners (engineers, specialists, university teachers, skilled workers), since it has only begun building up a university system in the last 30 years.
Salalah (population: 186,000)
Salalah is situated about 1,000 km southwest of Muscat – about 11 hours by bus through barren wastes. Salalah, the only area in Oman where the monsoon rain falls, is fruitful. At its greenest time in the autumn, thousands of visitors come for the Khareef festival. Because of its connection with the Sultanate of Zanzibar, off Tanzania, many Omanis in Salalah are Swahili-speaking. There are several Christian denominations in this city.
Sohar (population: 135,000)
Sohar is said to be the home of Sindbad, the famous Omani seafaring hero. It is considered a conservative city with a traditional lifestyle. Many of the older generation have not received any schooling.
Nizwa (population: 85,000)
Nizwa is situated about 85 km west of Muscat in the mountains. For centuries, the city has been famous as a center for handicrafts, craftsmen, and the arts. However, it is also a center for superstition and the occult. Silver amulets manufactured in Nizwa are worn in many parts of the Arab world.
Sur (population: 75,000)
Sur is the least evangelized Omani city, situated in the eastern point of Oman. Historically it is known for its famous shipyards, where ships are still being built and repaired. The famous Omani dhows sailed as far as China. The population is very conservative.
Flag of Oman
Map of Oman
Prayer guide for Oman:
* In Oman, 75% of the population follows Ibadi Islam, which is generally considered heretical by Sunnis. Ibadis believe that they are the “true” Muslims, making them even more resistant to Christianity. Pray that God may bring breakthroughs.
* Omanis are friendly and hospitable but restrained. They consider it impolite to discuss religious questions, making it difficult to have deep conversations with them. This may be a result of having been persecuted by Sunnis. Pray for the Holy Spirit to open hearts for conversation.
* There are many Christians among the foreign workers in Oman. Pray that their light will shine (Matt 5:14).
Background on Oman (World Factbook)
The inhabitants of the area of Oman have long prospered on Indian Ocean trade. In the late 18th century, a newly established sultanate in Muscat signed the first in a series of friendship treaties with Britain. Over time, Oman’s dependence on British political and military advisors increased, but it never became a British colony. In 1970, QABOOS bin Said al-Said ousted his father and has ruled as sultan ever since. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world and has preserved a longstanding political and military relationship with the UK. Oman’s moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries. In February and March 2011, in response to protester demands, QABOOS reshuffled his cabinet, pledged to create more government jobs, and promised to implement economic and political reforms, such as granting legislative and regulatory powers to the Council of Oman.
Economy of Oman
Oman is a middle-income economy in the Middle East with notable oil and gas resources, a substantial trade surplus, and low inflation. Tourism and gas-based industries are key components of the government’s diversification strategy. By using enhanced oil recovery techniques, Oman succeeded in increasing oil production, giving the country more time to diversify, and the increase in global oil prices throughout 2010 provides the government greater financial resources to invest in non-oil sectors.
Statistics on Oman
Population: 3,090,150
note: includes 577,293 non-nationals (July 2012 est.) World rank #136Life Expectancy at Birth: 74.47. World rank #104
Ethnic groups: Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African
Religions: Ibadhi Muslim 75%, other (includes Sunni Muslim, Shi’a Muslim, Hindu) 25%
Languages: Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects
Literacy: 81.4% — male: 86.8%, female: 73.5%
School life expectancy: 12 years
Pray for the Arabian peninusla:
* for the stratgetic cities and towns of the land
* for government officals to come to Christ
* for visons, dreams, and revelations of Eisa [Jesus] to Muslims
* for many workers for the Arabian peninusla
* for Bible translation into local Arabic and Swhaili
* for spritiual pride to be broken down among Arabian Muslims
* for Christian guestworkers to know hwo to share the gospel with others
Dear Sir,
how are you?i hope you will be fine there.i want to Embrace Islam.i love and i want to spread all over the world.please help me,if you can.regards.
javed,
* pray for Omani leaders to come to know Jesus
They know Jesus and believe in him as a mighty prophet. You are not a muslim if u dont believe this!
* for youth to be hungry for jesus
They donot eat humans! They are hungry for the creator of Jesus.
* for Islamic clerics to come to know the Lord
Trust me, no body knows the Lord better then the muslims
* for Christian forigeners to share the Gospel in a meaningful way
The christian foreigners themselves have little faith in the Gospel
* for Bible translation and distrbution in the Sheheri
The SHEHERI speak and read arabic very well
* for spritiual pride to be broekn down amongst Omani Muslims
Are u envious of their spiritual pride, is it because it doesnot exist in most christians?
Well said kiza. May allah always keep you in the best of Iman. Ameen.
Dear Kiza,
Some responses to your responses, if you are still reading this.
“They know Jesus and believe in him as a mighty prophet. You are not a muslim if u dont believe this!”
- What the author means is for the Muslims to know Jesus as God himself, not as a mere prophet (Isa).
“They donot eat humans! They are hungry for the creator of Jesus.”
- Err he means it metaphorically. Jesus is the Lord.
“for Islamic clerics to come to know the Lord”
- Yes they know Allah. But do they know Yahweh?
“The christian foreigners themselves have little faith in the Gospel”
- The Christian foreigners who are missionaries in Muslim lands (and believe me, there are many) have lots of faith. They must, or else they wouldn’t be there. After all, we all know the penalty of being caught proselytizing in these places…
“Are u envious of their spiritual pride, is it because it doesnot exist in most christians?”
- Pride is a sin for Christians. As a Muslim, I suppose you know that Shaitan’s primary attribute was pride, for which he was cast out of Jannah.
More pragmatically speaking, Christians derive CONFIDENCE from their faith in God, because we believe that we are assured victory.
Peace,
Marcus
Thank u brother! I am Ibadhi and totally agree with u!
As my brother Sultan Al Rushidi said , I’m totally agree with him.
And I really would like Christans to read about islam more and more to find out the way….
Salaam Alaykum.
This article is very misleading in that it makes it look like there is an Islamic Orthodoxy (there isn’t). This article also makes no mention of the fact that the Ibadhi Madhab, the Shia Madhabi, and the 8 Sunni Madhabi, as well as Sufi Mysticism and Salafi thought, were accepted as legitimate interpretations of Islam by the Amman Message (24 of the world’s most prominent Muslim leaders including Shaykh Al Azhar, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, and Ayatollah Muhammad Hussayn Fadlallah signed it in Amman, Jordan). Please do some more research next time.
Christianity is a false religion. Beware. Don”t fall into the trap of Satan. The agents of Satan are in reality the modern day Christians who believe Jesus to be son of God rather than son of man. How stupid! They believe in trinity.They say 1+1+=1 . How absurd! They believe Jesus was crucified for our sins? Can God be so unjust as to punish an innocent person for the sins that he did not commit. If you want to know the real Jesus, look at the shining personality of Muhammad (SAW), the seal and crown of all the prophets.
Dear brother Younus,
God is at once just and loving and merciful. It is true that he punished an innocent (Jesus) to die for our sins. But that is because He is just – he cannot let any sin go unpunished. He cannot break his own rules and opposition to sin. I’m sure as a Muslim, you understand the concept of a just God as well.
However, at the same time, God is love. He sent Jesus as a substitute for our sins, so that we don’t have to pay the penalty of sin (which is eternal death and separation from God) which taints man from the time of Adam. This is the fundamental tenet of Christianity: God is LOVE. You cannot understand Christianity if you don’t understand this fact.
I wouldn’t profess to know a lot about Islam, but its fundamental concepts of salvation, tawbah and the mandatory Five Pillars, kissing the Black Stone etc seem as alien to me as concepts like the Trinity are to you. I pray that in future, you will engage people of other faiths in a spirit of earnest and respectful dialogue, instead of starting off by calling other religions false.
I also pray that you will know the true loving nature of God one day, as represented by His son Jesus Christ, the Messiah and only path to salvation.
Peace,
Marcus
Dear Marcus,
Peace be upon you. We belong to the same Abrahamic religion as you, why do we ever need to convert? Isnt it not sufficient that we believe in the same Lord, Yehweh or Allah, arent they not the same?
We might consider your invitation if your religion could place our Master Muhammad (Peace be upon him and his progeny) as the last messenger, the seal of all the prophets. May the Lord guide you to Islam.
Peace, Aashique
Are you kidding? the world has known the burning rage of dhofari arab who are totally anti-islamists. remember the war of dhofar? only true arabs are of dhofars who will never accept any religion imposing on them. infact today still millions of dhofari arabs like me will stood up and fight against every possible abrahemic religions.
to Marcus: “I wouldn’t profess to know a lot about Islam, but its fundamental concepts of salvation, tawbah and the mandatory Five Pillars, kissing the Black Stone etc seem as alien to me as concepts like the Trinity are to you. I pray that in future, you will engage people of other faiths in a spirit of earnest and respectful dialogue, instead of starting off by calling other religions false.”
First, I totally agree with the last part of what you say. As far as the first, perhaps these things only seem alien to you because you’re thinking more of differences in language, culture, appearance, etc. than what these things actually /are./ Because most aren’t all that different from Christianity. [Edited for brevity, Admin]