From Al Tahtawi to Oman: What cultural role can Oman build?

In 1826, Egyptian scholar Rifa‘a Rafi‘ al Tahtawi travelled to France as part of an educational mission sent to Paris by Muhammad Ali Pasha. He went as the mission’s religious guide, but his five years in France transformed him into one of the leading figures of the Arab intellectual awakening.
Al Tahtawi returned convinced of the importance of education, knowledge and engagement with contemporary European civilisation. His ideas would later find echoes in the work of reformers such as Jamal Al Din al Afghani, Abdulrahman al Kawakibi and Muhammad Abduh.
Oman’s historical experience was different from Egypt’s. Oman maintained considerable political independence for long periods and developed a wide maritime presence extending towards Persia, India and East Africa. Under Sayyid Said bin Sultan in the nineteenth century, the Omani state stretched from Oman to parts of East Africa and developed extensive commercial and diplomatic connections.
Yet an important part of this history remains insufficiently studied. We still know relatively little about the intellectual and cultural dimensions of the Omani presence in East Africa, compared with the extensive research devoted to Egypt’s modern intellectual awakening.
Egypt recognised early the importance of printing and journalism. The Bulaq Press was established in the early 1820s, followed by Al Waqa’i‘ Al Misriyya newspaper in 1828. In Zanzibar, Sultan Barghash bin Said established the Sultani Press in 1879, while Al Najah newspaper appeared in 1911.
There were also significant cultural links between Zanzibar and Cairo. Omani rulers supported Egyptian newspapers, books and publishing projects, while publishers and intellectuals in Egypt corresponded with Zanzibar. These exchanges reveal a cultural relationship deserving much greater attention.
Developments in Oman itself, however, followed a different path. Political divisions, traditional religious thinking and resistance to some forms of modern education contributed to slowing intellectual and educational change. While new ideas, printing and modern schools were developing elsewhere, Oman remained affected by internal political and religious disputes.
Attempts at reform did occur. The Libyan reformer Suleiman al Barouni, for example, introduced financial reforms and established a school in the Wilayat of Samayil, but some of his initiatives encountered resistance from traditionalists. Later efforts to send students abroad and establish modern schools also came relatively late.
The year 1970 marked a fundamental turning point. Oman opened itself to modern education and global knowledge, sent students abroad and established schools, universities and institutions covering a wide range of academic and professional fields.
Today, however, the question is no longer simply one of modernisation. Oman has achieved much in infrastructure, education and development. The more difficult question is cultural: how can modernisation become more human-centred?
Building roads, universities and institutions is one achievement. Building a society capable of critical thinking, creativity and intellectual openness is another.
This is where culture becomes essential. Culture should not be understood merely as festivals, clubs, associations and occasional programmes. It should be part of the political, economic and social development of society and a form of soft power through which Oman can strengthen its presence internationally.
What Oman needs now are research institutions capable of equipping younger generations with contemporary intellectual tools, alongside influential media that can engage both domestic and international audiences. Such institutions should encourage critical thinking, creativity and the ability to understand a rapidly changing world.
Oman’s geopolitical position offers a valuable opportunity. Its foreign relations and regional standing provide space for the country to develop cultural institutions that are open to different forms of knowledge and intellectual exchange. External openness, however, needs to be accompanied by cultural openness at home.
More than two centuries ago, Al Tahtawi asked how Arab societies could enter the modern age. Oman today faces a different stage of that question. It is no longer isolated from the Arab region or the wider world, and its challenge is no longer simply to acquire the tools of modernisation.
The challenge is to turn development into cultural empowerment.
Oman still needs stronger research centres, greater confidence in cultural openness and media capable of supporting serious intellectual life. It also has the potential to become a home for Arab intellectuals and a meeting place for wider cultural exchange.
Achieving that ambition requires moving beyond hesitation. The world is changing rapidly, and cultures are interacting more intensely than ever. Oman has the foundations for a significant cultural role. The question now is how that potential can be transformed into enduring institutions, knowledge and influence.
Translated by Badr al Dhafri. This is an adapted translation of the original Arabic article published in the print edition of the cultural supplement of the Oman Daily newspaper on 24 September 2026.