POPULATION 2,497,000
IBADI ISLAM 75 percent
OTHER (SUNNI AND SHIA ISLAM; HINDU) 25 percent

Country Overview

Introduction

Historically, politically, and geographically, Oman is the most isolated part of Arabia. Bordering to the west are the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. The desert of the Empty Quarter serves as a land barrier to the north, but a 1,700-kilometer coastline along the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean enabled Oman to develop into a major maritime power until the nineteenth century. The mountainous interior, a stronghold of Ibadi Islam, is distinct from the more cosmopolitan culture of the coast. The southwestern region of Dhofar is culturally linked with the Hadramawt desert valley of southeastern Yemen and follows the Shafii legal school of Sunni Islam.

The Azd tribe of Oman voluntarily embraced Islam in 627 during the lifetime of the Prophet Mohammad. Azdis from Oman participated in the early Islamic conquests and settled...