This first part of the autobiography of Dr Sultan bin Muhammad al-Qasimi spans the years until his selection as ruler of Sharjah as a young man of thirty-three. It reveals the emergence of the man and the state, documenting with insight the dramatic palace coups in his own country and the neighbouring emirate of Ras al-Khaimah and the struggles for power during the formation of the United Arab Emirates. Revealing fascinating and untold parts of the history of the Gulf state, the author's story is told with humour and passion, including his role in the protests and anti-British sabotage actions following the tripartite aggression against Egypt in 1956, his brief affiliation with the Ba'th party and the subsequent attempt on his life by party zealots in the 1960s, the occasionally baffled British administration attempting to follow the changing balances in power, and the siege of the palace in 1972 in which the former ruler of Sharjah was killed.
Just a few weeks after the foundation of the United Arab Emirates on 2 December 1971, Dr Sultan al-Qasimi was selected as the new ruler of Sharjah. With the addition of a further and final emirate in 1972, seven hitherto separate emirates had now become a single country under the leadership of Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the highly respected ruler of Abu Dhabi. Dr al-Qasimi, one of the new federation's most enthusiastic supporters, was frequently tasked with solving the challenges that it faced, including constitutional issues and territorial disputes. Dr al-Qasimi's personal touch, including his Saturday morning majlis where all comers, whether nationals or otherwise, could bring their problems, and his support for educational and cultural institutions, was a vital element in building a solid base for the young country. In the International arena, the author's former contacts in Iran and his formative years in Egypt provided him with valuable foreign policy skills during a period that saw the 1973 war with Israel, and the subsequent oil embargo, as well as the assassination of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. Perhaps the most colourful of his activities on the global stage, however, was his visit to the Nation of Islam in 1976, when 100,000 members greeted him on his arrival at the airport in Chicago and where the road to the hotel was lined with crowds of Muslims, including boxer Muhammad Ali, running beside the author's car.
This first part of the autobiography of Dr Sultan bin Muhammad al-Qasimi spans the years until his selection as ruler of Sharjah as a young man of thirty-three. It reveals the emergence of the man and the state, documenting with insight the dramatic palace coups in his own country and the neighbouring emirate of Ras al-Khaimah and the struggles for power during the formation of the United Arab Emirates. Revealing fascinating and untold parts of the history of the Gulf state, the author's story is told with humour and passion, including his role in the protests and anti-British sabotage actions following the tripartite aggression against Egypt in 1956, his brief affiliation with the Ba'th party and the subsequent attempt on his life by party zealots in the 1960s, the occasionally baffled British administration attempting to follow the changing balances in power, and the siege of the palace in 1972 in which the former ruler of Sharjah was killed.
Im vierten und letzten Band seiner Memoiren schildert der Emir von Sharjah, wie es nach dem gescheiterten Putschversuch im Juni 1987 weiterging. Er berichtet von seinen Aufgaben und Maßnahmen, seinen politischen und gesellschaftlichen Anliegen und Visionen. Mit dem Tod des Gründers der Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate, Shaikh Zayid bin Sultan Al Nahyan, im November 2004, schließen seine Erinnerungen. In den genannten Zeitraum fällt die irakische Invasion Kuwaits im Jahre 1990 – eine traumatisierende Erfahrung für die Bürger Sharjahs und der anderen Emirate, die sich in großer Zahl als Freiwillige meldeten, um ihre Nachbarn zu verteidigen. Sharjah und die VAE erlebten in diesen Jahren bedeutende Entwicklungen in den Bereichen Kultur und Bildung, aber auch in politischer Hinsicht. Mit der Gründung der Universität Sharjah und der Amerikanischen Universität von Sharjah sowie weiterer wichtiger Bildungsinstitutionen in den anderen Emiraten wuchs auch das akademische Angebot. 1998 wurde Sharjah zur arabischen Kulturhauptstadt gewählt. Dies geschah in Anerkennung des lebendigen, kulturfreundlichen Klimas, das sich etwa in der ab 1993 stattfindenden Sharjah Kunstbiennale zeigte oder in der steigenden Bedeutung der Buchmesse von Sharjah. Der Autor selbst erhielt in diesen Jahren zahlreiche Auszeichnungen, unter anderem vom Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, außerdem Doktor- und Ehrendoktortitel von mehreren internationalen Universitäten. 2003 verlieh Frankreich Dr. Sultan al-Qasimi den renommierten Ordre des Arts et des Lettres und würdigte damit seine Leistungen in den in Bereichen Hochschulbildung, Wissenschaft, Kultur und Kunst und seine Unterstützung des Dialogs zwischen Orient und Okzident.
Just a few weeks after the foundation of the United Arab Emirates on 2 December 1971, Dr Sultan al-Qasimi was selected as the new ruler of Sharjah. With the addition of a further and final emirate in 1972, seven hitherto separate emirates had now become a single country under the leadership of Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the highly respected ruler of Abu Dhabi. Dr al-Qasimi, one of the new federation's most enthusiastic supporters, was frequently tasked with solving the challenges that it faced, including constitutional issues and territorial disputes. Dr al-Qasimi's personal touch, including his Saturday morning majlis where all comers, whether nationals or otherwise, could bring their problems, and his support for educational and cultural institutions, was a vital element in building a solid base for the young country. In the International arena, the author's former contacts in Iran and his formative years in Egypt provided him with valuable foreign policy skills during a period that saw the 1973 war with Israel, and the subsequent oil embargo, as well as the assassination of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. Perhaps the most colourful of his activities on the global stage, however, was his visit to the Nation of Islam in 1976, when 100,000 members greeted him on his arrival at the airport in Chicago and where the road to the hotel was lined with crowds of Muslims, including boxer Muhammad Ali, running beside the author's car.
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