Sultan bin Saqr al-Qasimi (Trucial States)

The Trucial States, known today as the United Arab Emirates, owes a significant amount of its development to Sultan bin Saqr al-Qasimi. Saqr helped set the foundation for Western involvement in the Arabian Gulf. Saqr contribution to Islam is mostly political. Through examining the life of Saqr I will display his importance to the discursive tradition of Islam.

In 1803 Sultan bin Saqr al-Qasimi became of the sheikh of the ports cities of Sharja and Ras al-Khaima. His claim to power was the result of being born into an Arab elite family known as the al-Qasimi. The al-Qasimi family was highly influence in the Arabian Gulf during 18th and 19th centuries. The climate in which Saqr rose to power was characterized by political ambition. The Arabian Gulf contained several elite families and government administration that sought to expand their political control. In this regard, Saqr was no different. What makes him unique is the way he exploited the geography of the cities he controlled to flex his political might. With Sharja and Ras al-Khaima being port cities, Saqr engage maritime depredation. Western nations described Saqr and his people as Arab pirates. The piracy that Saqr engaged in set the stage for colonial dominance.

However, in regards to Islam, Saqr religious beliefs influenced his willingness to engage in piracy. The areas in which the Qasimi family held influence in were a part of the Sunni branch of Islam. Prior to the rise of the Wahhabi in Saudi Arabia, the Qasimi family was heavily influenced by Sufism. Charles E. Davies writes, “the ruling family had a special attachment to Sayyid Hasan, who otherwise widely venerated, for he had been the Sufi master of the ruler Rashid bin Matar…the people of Ras al-Khaima were inevitably instructed by the conquering Saudi forces to demolish the tomb of Sayyid Hassan, which to Wahhabi purists represented a deviant accretion upon the true original Islam.”[1] There is no documentation that concretely shows Saqr’s relationship with Sufism. What can be assumed is that Saqr grew up in an environment where Sufism was accepted. Given the influence Saudi Arabia held over the gulf region, Wahhabism became the dominant version of Islam in cities where Saqr ruled. Since Saqr grew up as a Sunni Muslim, he and the people he governed were accustomed to the Hanbali school of law. The Wahhabism that was imported from Saudi Arabia challenged Sufism, but it fit perfectly with the style of Sunni law that Saqr was already familiar with. While Saqr held major political disagreements with Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism supported his piracy. For the Wahhabi those who did not follow their true form of Islam were enemies to both them and Allah. Thus, they viewed the piracy of Saqr as form of Holy War. It remains to be seen if Saqr held such a view. However, he did capitalize on the Wahhabism’s emphasis on Holy War by increasing the amount of ships that he attacked and plundered. While it seems that Saqr piracy was for political and economic purposes, Wahhabism allowed him to cloak his ambition as religious.

The increased piracy off the eastern coast of the Arabian Gulf garnered the attention of the British. England often the used the waters of the Arabian Gulf as a trade route to India. By the early 19th century England was heavily involved in the affairs of India, thus the increased piracy in the Arabian Gulf was a major concern for the British government. Saqr was responsible for a significant number of the raids on British ships, and tension between the Arabian Gulf and England began to form. The Wahhabi in Saudi Arabia supported Saqr’s endeavors against the British. However, political disagreements over the control of port cities led Saudi Arabia to remove Saqr from power in 1809. He would later, in 1813, gain enough support in the port city of Sharja to again rise to power. The major port city previously under his control, Ras al-Khaima, remained under Saudi influence. After rising to power for the second time in Sharja, Saqr continued his raids on British ships. The British responded with several counter offensives that severely hurt the port cities on the eastern coast of the Arabian Gulf.

In 1820 a peace treaty was signed between the leaders in the Trucial State region and England. The treaty not only guaranteed peace but it also put the leaders and their territory under the protection of the British. At first glance one might think Saqr would oppose such an alliance. However, by siding with the British Saqr was able reacquire the port city of Ras al-Khaima. Additionally, by seeking the protection of the British he was able to reestablish the al-Qasimi influence, while limiting the Saudi and the later Ottoman Empire influence in the Trucial States. Once back in power it does not seem likely that Saqr stood against Wahhabism. Wahhabism’s influence continued after Saqr death in 1866. However, once aligned with the British Saqr did not need the help Wahhabism for his political ambitions.

Written By: Brandon Render

[1] Charles E. Davies, Blood-Red Arab Flag: an Investigation Into Qasimi Piracy 1797-1820 (Devon, UK: University of Exeter Press, 1997), 248.

Bibliography

Davies, Charles E. Blood-Red Arab Flag: an Investigation Into Qasimi Piracy 1797-1820 (Exeter Maritime Studies). publication place: University of Exeter Press, 1997.

Floor, William. The Persian Gulf: The Rise of the Gulf Arabs, the Politics of Trade On the the Persian Littoral 1747-1792. Washington D.C.: Mage Publishers, 2007.

Onley, James. “Britain and the Gulf Shaikhdoms, 1820–1971: The Politics of Protection.” Center for International and Regional Studies 1, no. 4 (2009): 1-54.