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Oman Oman -- Society
Religion
The majority of Omanis are Ibadi Muslims, followers of
Abd
Allah ibn Ibad
(see Shia Islam
, ch. 1). Approximately 25
percent
are
Sunni (see Glossary)
Muslims and live primarily in Sur and
the surrounding area and in Dhofar. They form the largest
nonIbadi minority. The
Shia (see Glossary)
minority live along the
Al Batinah coast in the Muscat-Matrah region. This
minority
includes the Khojas, the Baharina of Iraqi or Iranian
descent,
and the Ajam, of vague origin but generally considered to
originate in Iran.
Ibadism is an outgrowth of the Kharijite movement, a
variant
form of Islam practiced by descendants of a sect that
seceded
from the principal Muslim body after the death of the
Prophet
Muhammad in A.D. 632. Kharijites reject primogeniture
succession
of the Quraysh, the tribe of Muhammad, and assert that
leadership
of Islam, the caliphate, should be designated by an
imam (see Glossary)
elected by the community from candidates who
possess
spiritual and personal qualities. Ibadi leadership is
vested in
an imam, who is regarded as the sole legitimate leader and
combines religious and political authority. The imam is
elected
by a council of prominent laymen or shaykhs. Adherence to
Ibadism
accounts in part for Oman's historical isolation.
Considered a
heretical form of Islam by the majority Sunni Muslims,
Ibadis
were not inclined to integrate with their neighbors.
Data as of January 1993
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