SHEIKH

Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qassimi

is the Ruler of Sharjah and Member of
the Supreme Council of the United Arab
Emirates. He was honoured with the 2010
Cultural Personality of the Year award
by the Sheikh Zayed Book Award for

SULTAN
his contribution to the advancement of
the Arab culture and his efforts to enrich
Arabic literature. Dr Sheikh Sultan is not
only a ruler committed to the promotion
of culture and the arts, he is also a prolific
author, a respected researcher, and a
distinguished history professor.

life and times

BY ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHER NOOR ALI RASHID
Noor Ali Rashid has documented the
life and work of Sheikh Sultan, from the
1940s, right up to the present day. The
Ruler’s vision for the emirate’s growth and
development, has seen Sharjah grow into
a modern state while still maintaining the
values and traditions of its people. Under
his leadership, Sharjah has also been
transformed into a centre for learning, arts,
and culture.

Besides the official recording of historic

moments, Noor Ali Rashid was there to
capture less formal events, thus providing a
glimpse into the life and times of Sharjah’s
esteemed Ruler.

Published with the sponsorship

of Crescent Petroleum

introduction BY He SHEIKH nahayan Mabarak AL NAHaYAN

SHEIKH
SULTAN
life and times

Published with the sponsorship

of Crescent Petroleum
 SHEIKH
SULTAN
life and times
BY ROYAL PHOTOGRAPHER
NOOR ALI RASHID

2
Dedication
This book is respectfully dedicated to HH Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qassimi,
Ruler of Sharjah, for his relentless worldwide endeavours to advance the awareness and
appreciation of Middle Eastern and Islamic cultures, through the pursuit of education
and cultural understanding.
— Noor Ali Rashid

Other Motivate titles by Noor Ali Rashid Other photographic credits

Crescent Petroleum: 40 (top & bottom), 115 (bottom)
Abu Dhabi – Life and Times Dar Al Khaleej, Photographic archive: 53, 55, 90 (top), 99, 113, 114, 142
Dubai – Life and Times
Gulfpics: 56, 121 (top)
The UAE – Visions of Change
Private collection of HH Sheikh Sultan: Title page, 44 (bottom), 89
Sheikh Zayed – Life and Times
(bottom), 102–103, 105, 106, 107, 108 (top & bottom), 109, 111 (bottom)
Sheikh Maktoum – Life and Times
WAM/Emirates News Agency: 94, 95
Sheikh Khalifa – Life and Times
Sheikh Mohammed – Life and Times

Published by Motivate Publishing

Dubai: PO Box 2331, Dubai, UAE

Tel: (+971 4) 282 4060, fax: (+971 4) 282 7898
e-mail: books@motivate.ae www.booksarabia.com

Office 508, Building No 8, Dubai Media City, Dubai, UAE

Tel: (+971 4) 390 3550, fax: (+971 4) 390 4845

Abu Dhabi: PO Box 43072, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Tel: (+971 2) 677 2005, fax: (+971 2) 677 0124

London: Acre House, 11/15 William Road, London NW1 3ER

E-mail: motivateuk@motivate.ae

Directors: Obaid Humaid Al Tayer and Ian Fairservice

General Manager Books: Jonathan Griffiths

Consultant Editor: Catherine Demangeot

Editors: Moushumi Nandy, Simona Cassano
Senior Designer: Cithadel Francisco
Designer: Charlie Banalo
Author’s Team
Photo Archivist: Shamsa Rashid
Photo Researcher: Samia Rashid
Editorial Coordinator: Yasmin Rashid

Publishing Coordinator: Zelda Pinto

© Noor Ali Rashid and Motivate Publishing 2010

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing in
any medium by electronic means) without the written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for the copyright
holders’ written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publishers. In accordance
with the International Copyright Act 1956 and the UAE Federal Law No. (7) of 2002, Concerning Copyrights and Neighbouring
Rights, any person acting in contravention of this copyright will be liable to criminal prosecu­tion and civil claims for damages.

ISBN: 978 1 86063 272 3

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library.

Printed and bound in the UAE by Emirates Printing Press, Dubai.


HE Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan
6 7
Introduction
I am truly delighted and deeply honoured to have this
opportunity to introduce this remarkable book on the
life and times of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin
Mohammed Al Qassimi, Member of the Supreme
Council of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of the
Emirate of Sharjah. I welcome this opportunity to pay
tribute to His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan for his great
contributions to the development and progress in
Sharjah and the UAE.
For as long as I can remember, I have been very
impressed with Sheikh Sultan’s vision for Sharjah and
his efforts to transform the emirate into a leading
centre for learning, culture and the arts. Under his
enlightened leadership, appreciation of Sharjah’s rich
heritage is enhanced by the emphasis on modern
culture. This is an emirate where literature, theater,
music, painting, sculpture, photography, and folk
dancing are actively promoted and encouraged. Sharjah
is a place where elegant mosques, museums, art
exhibitions, heritage festivals, and book fairs can be
enjoyed. Today, Sharjah is home to a large number of
non-profit foundations, associations and clubs that
promote culture and support intellectual interests and
pursuits. No wonder then that Sharjah was awarded its
ultimate accolade in 1998, when UNESCO named it the
Cultural Capital of the Arab World. Sharjah has also
been designated as the Cultural Capital of the Islamic
World for the year 2014. One only needs to observe
the vibrant cultural environment in Sharjah to have an
appreciation of Sheikh Sultan’s vision, leadership, and
strong commitment to a bright future for Sharjah and
the United Arab Emirates.
The spirit of Sharjah’s history (which dates back
more than 6,000 years) has been kept alive by His
Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan, who has successfully
incorporated both heritage and modernity into every
aspect of development. What is particularly remarkable
is the fact that Dr Sheikh Sultan is not only a ruler who
is committed to the promotion of culture and the arts,
he is also a prolific author, an esteemed researcher,
and a distinguished history professor. His books on the
history of the UAE and the region have corrected many
of the misconceptions about our history. His most
recent book Sard Al That, is an autobiography that
covers his life from the 1940s to the 1970s. This
valuable work documents major milestones in Sharjah,
the Gulf and the Arab world during that transitional
period of our history.
Dr Sheikh Sultan is also a leader who understands
the importance of education to the development of
society. With his guidance, Sharjah has become an
important centre of learning in the region. Its
impressive University City, with its seven campuses
including those of the American University in Sharjah,
Sharjah University and the Higher Colleges of
Technology, is a source of great pride to us all.
For his many efforts and dedication to promoting
culture and education in Sharjah, the United Arab
Emirates, and the Arab world, Dr Sheikh Sultan was
named by the prestigious Sheikh Zayed Book
Foundation as the 2010 Cultural Personality of the Year.
This award is the richly deserved culmination of a
lifetime of dedication to our cultural heritage and
pursuit of educational excellence.
In addition to education and culture, Sharjah, under
the direction of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan, has
taken giant strides in creating a viable infrastructure for
industry, commerce, and agriculture. With its oil and
gas, ports on both coasts, an international airport and
free zones, the emirate is a leading industrial base in
the region. Sharjah’s modern shopping malls, traditional
souks, sports competitions, and numerous beaches and
desert activities contribute to a high quality of life in
the emirate.
Once again, it is indeed a great pleasure for me to
write the introduction to this book on His Highness Dr
Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, a leader
who has made all this possible. For this I must thank
the author, Noor Ali Rashid. This is the eighth book in
Noor Ali’s ‘Life and Times’ series that so graphically
documents the history of the UAE and its leaders. For
nearly six decades, Noor Ali has been the official
photographer of the UAE. His photographic collection
is, in fact, one of the premier records of the
development of the United Arab Emirates. Thank you,
Noor Ali, for your energy, your talent, and your
unfaltering commitment to the compilation of this
photographic record of global significance.
I am confident that readers everywhere will enjoy
both the subject of this book and the brilliant
photography as much as I do.
Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan
Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
United Arab Emirates
Contents
Introduction 6

Chapter 1 – Historical legacy 10

Chapter 2 – Developing the emirate 32

Chapter 3 – Statesmanship 66

Chapter 4 – A learned man 102

Chapter 5 – Traditional family values 126

Sharjah Fort photographed here was the official residence of the Ruler until 1965.
It then became the headquarters of Sharjah Police and was demolished to make
way for the new banking centre. Rebuilt in the early 1990s, it is now a museum
whose displays retrace the story of the emirate over the last 200 years. It is the
historical heart of the emirate.

Chapter 1
Historical legacy
HH Dr Sheikh Sultan III bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, born
on 6 July 1939, is the fifteenth ruler of a dynasty whose
historically known rulers date back to 1727; he is the third
to bear this name. Sheikh Sultan has ruled Sharjah since
1972. He is a descendant of the famous Qawasim family
which settled in Sharjah roughly in 1727 and formed an
independent sheikhdom, thus marking the beginning of its
recent history.
Historically, Sharjah, meaning “rising sun”, was one of
the wealthiest towns in the region, having been settled for
over 6,000 years. As early as the second century, a map
drawn by the Greek geographer Ptolemy indicates a
settlement called Sarcoa where Sharjah can now be found.
The famous Arab navigator, Ahmad Ibn Majid referred to
Sharjah in his records in AD 1490 as he navigated the
Gulf’s waters. The population was small and relied mainly
on trade and seafaring along with farming, hunting,
fishing and pearling.
However, as various European empires started to assert
their ambitions towards other continents, Sharjah suffered a
long period of turmoil and unrest because of its strategic
location along the trade routes between India and the
Mediterranean. In 1507, the Portuguese, whose aim was to
control the spice trade, conquered the region. They built forts
in strategic locations along the Gulf of Oman coast, in Dibba,
Khor Fakkan and Kalba. However, other European countries
also became interested in establishing strongholds in the
region. In the early 1600s, the Dutch defeated the Portuguese,
for the same purpose of controlling the trade routes. As of
the middle of the seventeenth century the British had also
entered the fray for regional supremacy, initially by
establishing trade relationships with the local Qawasim clan.
Opposite page: On completion of his tour of duty, Colonel Stuart Carter,
commanding officer of the Trucial Oman Scouts headquartered in
Sharjah, prepares to hand the flag over to his successor.
In the nineteenth century, Sharjah was the second most important city in
the whole Gulf after Kuwait. It was also the first of the Trucial States
where Britain installed a political representative, in 1823.
10
HISTORICAL legacy
Despite the presence of the different foreign powers
during the eighteenth century, the Qawasim tribes, which
were excellent mariners, established a significant maritime
power in the Southern Gulf; by the beginning of the 19th
century they had built up a sizeable fleet of large vessels
and were able to put up to 20,000 sailors to sea. Their
strength did however pose a serious challenge to the
British, who were then emerging as the dominant power
in the Indian Ocean. In the first two decades of the
nineteenth century, a series of clashes between the two
sides ended in the virtual destruction of the Qawasim fleet
and the consolidation of British influence in the Gulf. To
justify their attacks on the Qawasim navy, the British
claimed that it was involved in acts of piracy. These claims
have been convincingly refuted by Sheikh Sultan in his
book titled The Myth of Arab Piracy in the Gulf (1986),
which shows that the British attacks on Qawasim fleets
essentially responded to their strategic ambition of
establishing a base for trade purposes and as a measure to
protect the trade routes between Europe and India.
On 8 January 1820, Sheikh Sultan I signed the General
Maritime Treaty with Britain, accepting a protectorate to
keep the Ottomans out. Like four of its neighbours, Ajman,
Dubai, Ra’s al-Khaimah and Umm al-Qaiwain, its position
on the route to India made it important enough to be
recognized as a salute state by the British government1.
The Treaty marked the beginning of a period of peace, in
particular at sea. The name of the coast became the Trucial
Oman Coast and the sheikhdoms became known as the
Trucial States from 1853 up until the formation of the
United Arab Emirates in 1971. In the nineteenth century
the town of Sharjah was the leading port in the lower Gulf.
1 A Salute state was a princely state (i.e. reigned by a native ruler of
princely rank) to which the British colonial paramount ruler has granted
a gun salute; i.e., the protocollary privilege for its ruler to be greeted –
originally by Royal Navy ships, later also on land – with a number of
gun shots, as recognition of the state’s relative status.
11
sheikh SULTAN: Life and times
Produce from the interior of Oman, India and Persia arrived
there. Salt from its mines, along with pearls, were major
items of its export business.
During the British rule, Sharjah was probably the most
important of the Emirates and became the main political
and economic centre on the coast. It maintained that
position until the end of the nineteenth century. A
reflection of the importance and stability of the sheikhdom
is that, between 1823 and 1954, Sharjah was the base for
Britain’s only political representative on the Trucial Coast.
The prominence of the region was also enhanced by the
staging post which the British Government established in
Sharjah as early as 1932 for the Imperial Airways flights en
route from England to India. Sharjah thus became the first
airport in the Emirates. At that time, the airport was
several kilometres away from the town. Donkeys were
used to transport in-flight catering and water. Travellers
12
HISTORICAL legacy
were met on arrival by groups of traders, who had
travelled from the town to do business with them.
The importance of the airport helped cushion the collapse
of the pearl trade in the 1930s when the Japanese discovered
the secret of cultivating pearls and the Great Depression
drastically decreased the demand for natural pearls. Sharjah
suffered yet another setback thirty years later when the sea
trade also declined due to the silting up of the Creek.
Discovery of oil in 1972 and gas in the late 1970s
marked the onset of modern-day Sharjah. Combined with
the decision to dredge the creek and restore its vital
trading role for the emirate, these events changed the
fortunes of the emirate.
As another sign of the importance of Sharjah, the
British RAF had also established a base there in 1940,
which it used during World War II. The RAF also flew
campaigns from Sharjah during the Jebel Akhdar conflict
Above: An aerial view of Sharjah’s first civilian airport in the mid-1960s. The airport provided
Sharjah with an important source of income, at a time when the fortunes of the emirate and
the whole region were profoundly affected by the decline of the pearl trade.
Opposite page: In the late 1960s, the airport was often the scene of high-level gatherings such
as this. Here (from second left), Sheikh Mohammed of Fujairah, Sheikh Maktoum of Dubai,
Sheikh Rashid of Umm al-Qaiwain, Sheikh Hamad of Ajman accompany Sheikh Khalid of
Sharjah (right) as he prepares to welcome Sheikh Ahmed Al Sabah, Kuwait’s foreign minister.
13
sheikh SULTAN: Life and times HISTORICAL legacy

in the 1950s. When Sharjah International Airport opened

on 1 January 1977, the RAF station closed, and the base
was handed over to the Emirate of Sharjah.
Although today’s Sharjah International Airport now
stands several miles away from the original site, the original
airport did leave a fingerprint on modern Sharjah since its
runway is now King Abdul Aziz street in downtown Sharjah,
and its control tower is now part of the Al Mahatta Museum
complex which features the history of flight and the
development of aviation in the region.
Quite logically in view of the central role which Sharjah
played on the coast, this is also where, in 1951, the Trucial
Oman Scouts (TOS) were originally established. The TOS
were an internal security and rural patrol force
commanded by a British Army Major, with British as well
as Arab officers and whose soldiers were recruited locally.
They constitute an important part of Sharjah’s historical
legacy. They were regarded as a well-trained and efficient
military unit. In 1971, with independence, the Trucial
Oman Scouts were renamed Union Defence Force (UDF),
and were finally integrated into the UAE Union Defence
Force in 1986.
In the mid-1950s, Sharjah also witnessed the creation of
the first scout association in the UAE, a movement which,
thanks to Sheikh Sultan’s dedication has evolved and
prospered, as illustrated by the 2008 International
Gathering of Scouting and Humanitarian Actions held at
Sharjah and hosted by Sheikh Sultan himself.
On becoming ruler in 1972, Sheikh Sultan inherited this
rich historical legacy which has inspired the course of his
life and leadership.

Right: An early Syrian Arab Airline aircraft on the apron of Sharjah Airport,
in the late 1960s. The runway started as a sand strip built in 1932 by
Imperial Airways to accommodate a stop over for their flights en route to
India. The runway has since been integrated into Sharjah’s road network
and is now a major thoroughfare, known as King Abdul Aziz Street.

14 15
sheikh SULTAN: Life and times HISTORICAL legacy

Left: These RAF soldiers, in a uniform suited to the region’s climate, form
a guard of honour in front of an RAF Percival P.66 Pembroke, which has
just landed at the RAF camp in Sharjah with VIP guests on board. Signs of
development are visible on the left, in the background.

16 17
sheikh SULTAN: Life and times HISTORICAL legacy

Right: Colonel Bartholomew appears to be facing down this formidable

cannon at the Scouts’ camp, during the ceremony of his taking over as
Trucial Oman Scout Commander from Lieutenant-Colonel Carter, 1961.
This cannon is now outside the Department of Culture.

18 19