author - oman observer

Positive energy makes the world go around. That spirit powered the Tharwa Forum, a three-day ideation lab held in September 2025. The name “Tharwa” (Arabic for “wealth”) reflects His...

Who do you call when you need help? Each of us carries a mental list of dependable family members and friends who we know will answer in times of distress. In the Sultanate of Oman, when emergencies...

Walking through the bustling streets, universities, coffee shops and museums of Baghdad leaves a lasting impression. The city breathes generosity, knowledge and civility, qualities accumulated over...

In recent months, a troubling trend has become increasingly visible across digital platforms. Many users in the Sultanate of Oman, the rest of the Arab and Islamic world, and across the Global South...

“When elephants collide, the grass suffers.” But the grass also suffers when elephants whisper. The recent Alaska meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin...

“All politics is local.” That simple rule, drilled into former students of political science major like myself, has never felt more relevant. To truly understand the US’s aggressive foreign...

For many of us who grew up in the Arab world during the 1980s, one of the sweetest childhood memories is watching the animated series World Stories (Hikayat Alamiyah). Among the most memorable...

Five years ago, a quiet first-semester student, Dr Abdullah bin Mohammed al Lawati, walked into my entrepreneurship class at Sultan Qaboos University. Today, he stands as an award-winning pioneer in...

Comedian Eddie Griffin once posed a piercing question about faith: "You say you follow the messenger! Did you get the message?" For nearly two millennia, the Arab world, encompassing nearly half a...

“If you raise this issue, you will never do business with our entity again.” This stark threat, shared with me by a determined entrepreneur, didn’t come from a shadowy figure. It came from a...

Many years ago, while writing a research paper on Iran, I was impressed by a recurring theme: Researchers and visitors alike consistently spoke of the depth of Persian civilisation and culture, in...

Between 1842 and 1945, eight foreign powers conspired to strip China of its sovereignty, wealth and dignity in what the Chinese people call as the “Century of Humiliation". Great Britain’s Opium...

There are certain topics writers tend to avoid, and one of the most universally avoided is suicide. Across cultures, it remains a deeply sensitive subject, surrounded with stigma and silence. That...

Long before balance sheets and performance reviews, our cultures perfected a different kind of leadership ritual, before technology and AI... the burning of luban and bukhur, the fragrant resin from...

Imagine waking up every morning to a barrage of headlines about wars, economic collapse and environmental ruin, all live-streamed to your pocket. This isn’t another Netflix movie; it’s 2025. While...

In 1763, a Dutch East India Company vessel, Amstelveen, wrecked off the remote shores of Ras Markaz in Oman’s Al Wusta Governorate. Thirty survivors embarked on a harrowing 400-kilometre journey...

Once upon a time, in the golden age of the Himyarite Kingdom (circa 110 BCE – 525 CE) in Southern Arabia — where the sands of Yemen still whisper tales of lost civilisations, a queen questioned...

In 1983, a US report titled A Nation at Risk sparked a revolution in education. Today, a new challenge looms: generative AI. Unesco estimates 244 million children worldwide lack access to schooling,...

During a recent episode of 'Seen', a Ramadhan TV show hosted by Saudi social innovator Ahmad al Shugairi, viewers were introduced to China’s groundbreaking embrace of the “low altitude economy"....

Like a bird in the palm of a child — unaware of its suffering — Europe finds itself trapped by the whims of the current US administration. This imagery, drawn from the ancient Arab poet Qais Ibn...